Three Russian Tv Channels Cut Off In Belarus On Victory Day

Russian Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi expressed the hope that the temporary cut-off of three Russian TV channels in Belarus on the Victory Day is merely a technical malfunction. 'I don't understand what had happened during the holiday. Naturally, Belarus is an independent state and is free to make any decisions. But in case it is a deliberate political decision, it cannot be construed as friendly with regard to Russia,' stressed the Russian minister. In a RIA Novosti interview, the minister of culture also emphasised that the relations between the Russian and Belarussian TV channels had always run on mutual understanding. Belarussian President Aleksander Lukashenko explained the broadcasting cut-off on Tuesday by purely technical reasons. He also bluntly refuted the statements by first deputy chief of his administration Vladimir Zametalin who claimed the cut-off to have demonstrated the ideological sovereignty of Belarus. Sovereignty is won by other means, said the president.