On Saturday, the Belarusian president ordered an air assault brigade to be transferred from Vitebsk region in the country's northeast to Grodno region near Belarus's borders with Poland and Lithuania after expressing concerns about increasing military activity in those two NATO nations.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has given his first public address since last Sunday's presidential elections and the week of turmoil which has followed, and emphasized that he would not agree to any new round of elections demanded from abroad.
Lukashenko also warned about an alleged buildup of NATO forces, including tanks and aircraft, on Belarus's western borders.
Addressing allegations by the opposition that he had ‘stolen' the election, Lukashenko said that this was impossible, given the size of his margin of victory. “The elections have taken place. It's impossible to falsify over 80 percent of the result. This cannot happen…Who will hold these [new] elections? Who will take part in these elections? Bandits and thieves!” he suggested.
The Belarusian leader, who has been in power since 1994, and won a sixth consecutive term last Sunday, insisted that he was not clinging to his post. “I am not standing here because I have firmly grasped power. For a quarter of a century, I gave my youth and the best years of my life to serve you and our Motherland…They [the opposition] are shouting ‘Go away!'. No problem, no…
