Belarusian leader to run for president in 2025

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has said that he would run for president again in 2025.

Lukashenko made these remarks at a polling station after voting in parliamentary and local council elections, according to Reuters.

"Tell them [the exiled opposition] that I'll run," Lukashenko told journalists, Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported on February 25.

"No one, no responsible president would abandon his people who followed him into battle."

Lukashenko, 69, has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies.

"We're still a year away from the presidential election. A lot of things can change," he said in response to a follow-up question, BelTA reported.

"Naturally, I and all of us, society, will react to the changes that will take place in our society and the situation in which we will approach the elections in a year's time."