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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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**

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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)

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