. >> reporter: katy, here in belarus, the president lukashe in, ko has a reason why so many people arethe streets day in and day out, gathering if flash mobs and then disappearing or being broken up by police, he says it's all because of a foreign plot, a conspiracy led by the united states. that the united states is using foreign prove can tours to try to push him out of power. he's calling on patriotic citizens to come to his spot. i've been speaking to demonstrators, they say they're not reaching out to the united states and depending on nato or anyone else to drive them -- to drive this movement forward, because they're out on the streets because after 26 years in power they say it's time for lukashenko to go, they're hopeful for a peaceful transition. it's clear that he doesn't want to go peacefully, already thousands of demonstrators have been arrested. putin has come to his aid. putin said europe and other countries should back off, so putin is also taking a fairly similar line that this is not a domestic movement of unrest, this is a foreign plot. and actually, as this develops