INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping praised Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday who declared
victory in an election that sealed a seventh term in office.Official results showed the 70-year-old autocrat winning more than 86% of the
vote, drawing condemnation in the West.The Belarusian leader whohas sent to prison or exiled all his significant opponents throughout his
three-decade rule has won every presidential election considering that 1994, in ballots that the opposition and human rights groups say are
rigged.Putin said Sundays election revealed he had the undoubted support of the people.Your convincing success in the elections plainly
testifies to your high political authority and the undoubted assistance of the population for the state policy Belarus is pursuing, Putin
stated, according to the Kremlin.You are constantly a welcome and dear guest on Russian soil
As agreed, I look forward to seeing you quickly in Moscow, he continued.Chinese President Xi Jinping likewise sent out a message of
congratulations to Lukashenko, Chinese state media reported.Beijing and Minsk have actually drawn closer over recent years, with Belarus
under Western sanctions looking east to protect foreign investment.Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called the election a
farce, while the European Union described it as a sham.Lukashenko, a strong Putin ally, has been performing a ruthless crackdown on the
opposition considering that 2020, when the governmental election activated a wave of enormous protests.Rights groups say the nation has
jailed more than 1,200 political detainees with around 300 released in pre-vote pardons by Lukashenko.This time, the candidates picked to
run against him campaigned in his favor, while Lukashenko did not participate in debates and said he was not really following the campaign.
