Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday said during a video interview with Time magazine that he does not plan on running for another term in office.
“No, I don’t intend to do that,” Lukashenko, 70, told the outlet, a move that would end three decades in power, during which time he closely aligned himself and his country with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department by submission form outside of normal business hours on Friday evening for comment.
Why It Matters
Lukashenko, known as “Europe’s last dictator,” took power in 1994 and has since become one of Putin’s closest allies, playing a major role assisting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He is the only post-Soviet leader Belarus has ever had.
While Lukashenko’s troops haven’t directly joined the war in Ukraine, Russian troops have used Belarusian territory to stage exercises since the beginning of it, and Belarus helped Russia launch its invasion.
Belarus has periodically tried to make efforts to create stronger ties with the West, but Lukashenko’s ties to Russia have long acted as an impediment.
What To Know
The Belarusian leader has ended a period of speculation and scrutiny by making clear he will not seek another term in office.
While acknowledging that his successor may chart a different course for the country, he suggested that they “shouldn’t just throw things overboard straight away.”
This follows victory in an election earlier this year, with his current term not set to end until 2030. Lukashenko moved the election up by six months from its usual summer time frame.
His 2020 reelection sparked the largest protests in Belarus’ history, lasting months and prompting a severe crackdown resulting in more than 65,000 arrests and sanctions from the West. Many have maintained that the election was rigged.
Lukashenko last year hinted that he could be leaving office, saying that the public might need to “get used to the idea that there will be a different president” in response to queries at that time about his intention to remain in power.
Where Is Belarus?
Belarus is a post-Soviet state that borders Russia and covers the northern border of Ukraine. It also edges Poland, Lithuania and Latvia and is a landlocked country, with only some lakes scattered across it.
Why Did Belarus Split From Russia?
Belarus left the Soviet Union as part of the union’s broad dissolution in 1990, and declared total independence shortly thereafter when Russia survived the failed August Coup, when Communists tried to seize control of the remnant union.
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