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President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is aiming for a sixth term in the presidential election this weekend. LEHTIKUvA / AFP
According to President Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus has arrested people with a U.S. passport, according to the country’s national news agency Belta.
According to Lukashenko, the detainees have been married to American women working for the U.S. State Department. He did not provide any other details about the identities of the detainees.
“The mainstream media keeps on our toes speculating that the Americans and NATO want to attack our country,” the president said.
Mr Lukashenko spoke of the arrests at a meeting on the security of the presidential election on Thursday.
Belarus will hold presidential elections on Sunday. The country has seen exceptionally large-scale demonstrations against the regime of the authoritarian Lukashenko during the elections.
Mr Lukashenko has previously accused Russia and the West of meddling in the elections.
At Thursday’s meeting, the president said Belarus should be prepared for any provocations during the election.
– We don’t know what they can do. We don’t even know who they are: Americans with NATO, someone from Ukraine, or our Eastern brothers showing their ‘affection’ for us in this way. There is a hybrid war going on against Belarus and we should expect dirty tricks from anyone, as we do.
The Russian news agency Tass also reported on the president’s comments. In Finland, Yle reported earlier.
Last week, Belarus arrested 33 Russian mercenaries. According to Belarus, the men working for Wagner planned unrest and acts of terrorism during the election. According to Russia, the group was in transit in Belarus.
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The source is also the news agency AFP.