Tsikhanouskaya warns Russia against interfering

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Saturday said only a "transparent and fair election" could break the country out of its "political crisis" following the August presidential vote she claims was "rigged".

Tsikhanouskaya spoke during an online question and answer session from Vilnius in Lithuania, where she fled in the days after the August 9 election which saw President Alexander Lukashenko declared the winner with an overwhelming majority.

Belarusians have turned out in en masse for nearly four weeks to protest the official results which gave authoritarian Lukashenko a sixth term with 80% of the vote.

Tsikhanouskaya accused the president's regime of "stealing" votes and destroying evidence of election protocols not being followed.

She said she did not want to cut ties with Russia, which has publicly backed Lukashenko, but any interference in Belarus' internal affairs was "unacceptable".

Tsikhanouskaya had addressed the UN Security Council on Friday, where she urged the UN to condemn the crackdown on protesters.

On Saturday, she said the Belarusian people had "woken up" and there was "no turning back" over the continuation of demonstrations against the government.

(Image Credit: AP)