Putin ally Lukashenko says he won’t seek another term as Belarus president
The leader was interviewed by a US media outlet, in a sign of thawing relations with the United States under Trump
Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko has said he is not seeking another term in office.
“No, I don’t intend to do that,” Lukashenko said in a video interview released on Friday with the US Time magazine in Minsk.
The 70-year-old has ruled Belarus as president since 1994, aligning the country closely with Moscow under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He is due to serve until 2030 after winning another term in January in elections that were seen internationally as neither free nor fair.
A wave of mass protests erupted against Lukashenko’s rule in 2020 after an election that demonstrators believed was rigged.
On the fifth anniversary of the protests, human rights organisations have highlighted that around 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus after the demonstrations were brutally put down.