Putin, Belarus leader discuss deepening ties in phone call amid crisis - Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko discussed strengthening bilateral ties in a telephone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Lukashenko is facing a weeks-long domestic political crisis in which tens of thousands of Belarusians have regularly taken to the streets of Minsk calling for him to resign. Russia is a traditional ally of Belarus.