Belarus’s location is “very strategic” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to “increase Russia’s sphere of influence in the region, in particular Eastern Europe and the Middle East,” senior strategic analyst and retired Army Gen said Jack Keane Monday.
Keane made the remarks about “America’s Newsroom” over the weekend after thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minsk, Belarus’s capital, to protest police violence against peaceful protesters earlier in the week following a controversial presidential election.
Belarusians marched in the capital, shouting “Go away” at President Alexander Lukashenko, demanding his resignation after his 26-year rule.
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Protesters claimed Sunday’s election, in which Lukashenko received 80 percent of the vote and opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 10 percent, was rigged.
Lukashenko spoke after reports over the weekend with Putin, saying the Russian president had told him that Moscow was ready to provide support in the face of what he described as foreign aggression. However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who said in a statement that “the Alliance has no military presence in the region”.
“We have a dictator who changed the constitution, he has been in power for 26 years, he could do that, similar to what Putin has done where he will stay for 16 years, in addition to the 20 he has was already in power, ‘Keane said Monday, adding that Lukashenko’ has squandered his welcome. ‘
“He’s corrupt, he’s authoritarian, he’s repressive, he blew up the pandemic,” Keane continued. ‘He blamed the deaths of the people on the people themselves and forgets the fact that older people actually get sick and die there [and] took no precautionary measures. ”
Keane said at the time that people there were ‘fed up’ and ‘believed the election was fraudulent.’
Keane then stressed that what was happening in Belarus was “really important” for Putin, because “Belarus’ location is very strategic to him.”
“Long term what he wants is military bases in Belarus to weaken NATO, to weaken the trans-Atlantic alliance,” Keane said.
Host Trace Gallagher asked Keane, “How important is this to the United States, our perspective and our interests?”
Can respond by providing some context.
“The Eastern European countries were all annexed by [Soviet dictator Josef] “Stalin went to World War II as a result of the defeat, which all went away when the Soviet Union collapsed,” Keane said. “Most of those countries are now part of NATO, some are not. Belarus is one that is not.”
“And what Putin is trying to do is regain that atmosphere of influence,” Keane continued. ‘Why does he want that? The Russians always see Eastern Europe as a buffer against anyone invading their country. ”
“So yes, this is what this is about and to realize that and why we need to care is that they want to weaken NATO as a result. “They see NATO as a huge threat to their long-term security,” Keane said.
However, he pointed out that “no one in Europe ever thinks of the invasion of Russia.” He also said: “You can not be appalled at how Russia feels about its own security, its own national security and how it views the West as the antithesis to maintaining its own stability and security.”
“Putin is a thief. Lukashenko is a thug. They have a lot in common, ”said Keane.
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He added, “I think what Putin is looking at is that Lukashenko can calm the waters and stay in power or can take over for Lukashenko, who is equal to him in terms of his political aspirations and therefore Putin will be able to work with them. “
‘But if he [Putin] “If anyone comes forward who is pro-democracy, we’ll probably see Russian boots on the ground in Belarus,” Keane continued.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
