President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on re-election as the President of the Republic of Belarus on 25 December, the press service of the Belarusian head of state told BelTA. “I wish you success, and the fraternal people of Belarus peace and prosperity,” the message said.
The Kremlin press office confirmed on Saturday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had congratulated his Belarusian colleague Alexander Lukashenko with reelection. "Considering the official figures published by the Belarusian Central Election Commission and a report by Chairman of the Russian Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov on the conclusions by observers, this (congratulatory) letter was sent," Natalia Timakova, press secretary of the Russian president, said.
“Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on December, 20, that the presidential election in Belarus was an "internal matter" and did not comment on a violent police crackdown that followed the vote on Sunday. Medvedev avoided praise or criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who the state election commission in Belarus said won nearly 80 percent of the vote”, the reuters reported. "Elections in Belarus are Belarus's internal matter," Medvedev said when asked about the vote at a news conference with Latvia's president. "What is happening there is, in the final analysis, the internal matter of a neighbouring state."
