Protesters in Minsk denounce military exercises with Russia

MINSK, Belarus – About 200 people have held an unauthorized demonstration in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to protest their nation’s joint military exercises with Russia this month.

Although police in the authoritarian former Soviet republic often harshly break up unsanctioned demonstrations, there were no arrests at Friday’s gathering.

The military exercises beginning Sept. 14 have raised concerns among Belarus’ beleaguered opposition that Russia could use them to establish a permanent military presence.

Nikolai Statkevich, Belarus’ most prominent opposition figure, told the rally that Russia could use the exercises to “use our country as a base for aggression.”

Belarus borders Lithuania and Latvia and is near Estonia. All three Baltic states, which were once part of the Soviet Union, have expressed fears that Russia could try to annex them like it did Crimea in 2014.