Reuters, Kyiv

Prominent opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova was detained by Belarusian authorities, a border official said, after thwarting what a Ukrainian government minister described as an attempt to expel her from Belarus.

The Interfax Ukraine news agency said the activist had deliberately ripped up her passport so that Ukrainian border officials would not be able to let her through.

Soon after the incident, President Alexander Lukashenko told Russian reporters that he would not rule out holding new elections after four weeks of mass protests, but rejected any talks with opponents who he said were bent on steering the country towards disaster.

The fate of Kolesnikova had been a mystery since supporters said she was snatched in the street by masked men in the capital Minsk on Monday.

Lukashenko, who has crushed dissent in Belarus for the past 26 years, conceded in his interview with Russian journalists that he may have held onto power too long. But the 66-year-old leader said he was the only person capable of protecting the country for now.

Lukashenko denies opponents’ accusations of vote-rigging and has accused foreign powers of trying to topple him in a revolution. He retains the backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally, but faces the prospect of EU sanctions later this month.