Russia loans $1.5 billion to Belarus during Putin-Lukashenko talks in Sochi

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to loan $1.5 billion to Belarus. Putin on Monday met embattled Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Putin did also mention that Belarusian people ought to resolve the crisis without foreign intervention.

Speaking from Sochi in Russia, Putin added how Lukashenko’s proposal to amend the Belarusian constitution was “logical and timely”.

Lukashenko landed in Sochi early on Monday to receive Putin’s support. Flight tracking data showed Lukashenko's plane touched down in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where Putin often hosts visiting dignitaries.

Lukashenkois seeking Moscow's backing after a fifth consecutive weekend of huge protests demanding his resignation.

The fate of the Belarusian leader is in Putin's hands as he faces the gravest crisis of his 26 years in power. Economic and military support from Moscow could help tip the balance in his favour as his security forces crack down hard on the opposition.

The Belarusian opposition accuses Lukashenko of rigging last month's presidential election, which he says he won fairly with 80% of the vote. Since then, thousands of people have been arrested and nearly all the opposition's key leaders have been detained, deported or forced to flee the country.

At least 100,000 protesters took to the streets of the capital Minsk on Sunday, taunting Lukashenko with chants of "You're a rat". Police said they detained 774 people at protests across the country.

Belarus is the former Soviet republic with the closest political, social, economic and defence relationships with Russia. The two countries even proclaimed a "union state" in the 1990s, complete with a Soviet-style red flag.