Russia's national guard, Belarusian police to discuss formal cooperation deal - RIA

Russia's National Guard and the Belarusian Interior Ministry will hold talks to discuss an agreement on formal cooperation, the RIA news agency cited a document as saying on Thursday.

Belarus, a traditional Russian ally, is in a political crisis after a disputed election in August that sparked mass protests against veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Russia initially said it had set up a reserve police force that could be used in Belarus if the unrest there got out of control.

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