Topic - Minsk

) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Nyamiha rivers. It is the administrative centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). As the national capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region (voblast) and Minsk raion (district). In 2013, it had a population of 2,002,600. - Source: Wikipedia

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In this handout photo released by Belarusian Presidential Press Office, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, and China's Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, right, speak during their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (Belarusian Presidential Press Office via AP)

China’s defense minister promises to boost cooperation with Russian ally Belarus

By Yuras Karmanau - Associated Press

A military truck drives up the hill in Baranowo, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2022. The Suwalki gap, which stretches about 100 kilometres along the Lithuanian-Polish border and lies sandwiched between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, has long been regarded as a vulnerable point in Nato's defences, if a conflict breaks out with Russia. NATO allies located along the alliance’s eastern front are growing increasingly worried about the presence of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries in Belarus. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk, File)

Poland and Lithuania say they fear provocations from Russia and Belarus at NATO’s eastern flank

By Vanessa Gera - Associated Press

In this handout photo released by Belarusian Presidential Press Office, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, right, speaks with the head of Russia's Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, centre, in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, May 29, 2023. At left is Pavel Kallaur, chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. (Belarusian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Belarus has no immediate plans to adopt Russian currency, its strongman leader Lukashenko says

Associated Press

In this handout photo released by Belarus' Presidential Press Office, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko listens to an officer's report as he arrives to visit the Central Command Post of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces in Belarus, Monday, May 15, 2023. (Belarus' Presidential Press Office via AP)

Photos of Belarus leader emerge after days of absences that sparked health rumors

By Yuras Karmanau - Associated Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A friend in need: Putin visits Belarus as Russia launches new drone strikes in Ukraine

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

Smoke rises from the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

Ukrainians mount last-ditch defense of Mariupol as diplomatic pressure on Kremlin grows

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Migrants warm themselves at a fire as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. A large number of migrants are in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the border in frigid conditions. Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko on Saturday ordered the military to set up tents at the border where food and other humanitarian aid can be gathered and distributed to the migrants. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA pool photo via AP)

EU to add airlines to Belarus sanctions as tensions mount

By Lorne Cook - Associated Press

FILE - Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere rest on the ground as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Thousands of migrants flocked to Belarus' border with Poland hoping to get to Western Europe, an influx that prompted Polish authorities to introduce a state of emergency and deploy thousands of troops and police. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP, File)

What’s behind the crisis at Belarus-Poland border

By Yuras Karmanau - Associated Press

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during an awarding ceremony in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, July 2, 2021. Lukashenko said Friday that he has ordered to shut the border with Ukraine, alleging that it has become a conduit for weapons smuggling. (Sergei Shelega/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)

U.S. delegate to U.N. signals additional sanctions against Belarus

By Joseph Clark - The Washington Times

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the IRS budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 8, 2021. (Tom Williams/Pool via AP) **FILE**

Russian influence key focus at Senate hearing on Belarus

By Joseph Clark - The Washington Times

Viachka Krasulin, who fled Belarus after police arrested and beat him during demonstrations against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020, sits at a cafe in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. He and other Belarusians who have left for European countries like Lithuania were shocked after Belarus diverted a Ryanair jetliner on Sunday, May 23, 2021, to arrest dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich, who also was living abroad but was on the flight. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Belarusians who fled crackdown fearful after diverted flight

By Yuras Karmanau - Associated Press

In this Sunday, March 26, 2017, file photo, Belarus police detain journalist Raman Pratasevich, center, in Minsk, Belarus. Raman Pratasevich, a founder of a messaging app channel that has been a key information conduit for opponents of Belarus’ authoritarian president, has been arrested after an airliner in which he was riding was diverted to Belarus because of a bomb threat. The presidential press service said President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet accompany the Ryanair plane — traveling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania — to the Minsk airport. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

West condemns plane’s diversion to arrest Belarus journalist

By Raf Casert and Liudas Dapkus - Associated Press

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks with local residents in the town of Bragin, some 360 km ( 225 miles) south-east of Minsk, Belarus, Monday, April 26, 2021. Alexander Lukashenko took part in a requiem rally on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)

Police in Belarus block rally marking Chernobyl anniversary

Associated Press

Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich smiles as she attends a court hearing in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Barysevich is accused of revealing personal data in her report on the death of a protester, part of the Belarusian authorities to stifle independent media reports about protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. (Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA pool photo via AP)

Belarus journalist on trial over report on protester’s death

Associated Press

In this photo provided by the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation and President of the Security Council for the month of October, briefs reporters on the work of the Security Council for the month, at the U.N., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in New York. (Mark Garten/UN Photo via AP)

Russia clashes with US and West over conflict in Ukraine

By EDITH M. LEDERER - Associated Press