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Lukashenko slams U.S. senators' call for his ouster

SOCHI. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he is not afraid of statements made by U.S. senators calling for a change in the Belarussian administration.

"There are so many senators and they have been trying to overthrow me for so many years. Do not worry that a senator can overthrow Lukashenko. They did not put me in this post, and they cannot overthrow me," Lukashenko told a press conference in Sochi on Monday.

"We have the people of Belarus, who can overthrow or appoint, and only the people have this right," he said.

"There are many senators and there is only one Belarus," Russian President Vladimir Putin told the press conference. "We have always stood for independence and defended the right to independently make any decisions in domestic policy and on the international scene," he said.

"Naturally, we will support this right of allies," he said.