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Many in the Belarusian opposition already suspect that Russia is waiting for the collapse of the Belarusian economy to grab easy prey.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Minsk this week. For those who may have naively awaited signs that the Kremlin was losing patience with the brutal methods and political booth of dictator Alexander Lukashenko and embarrassed by the scale of internal and external opposition it generates, this was another serious disappointment.
Ukraine, which recently announced its adherence to EU sanctions against Belarus, has been criticized. In the presence of Lavrov, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei accused Kiev of “hostile behavior” equivalent to «attempted flagrant interference in the internal affairs of Belarus ”, which Minsk considers as «a mockery of common sense. “
He hinted that Ukraine no longer adheres to a sovereign foreign policy, but has become dependent on the vile West. Makei threatened Ukraine with retaliatory measures. “We will not leave Ukraine’s actions directed against the Belarusian state unanswered.”
The shrill and harsh tone of the representatives of Russia and Belarus seemed to be a throwback to the days of the bloated rhetoric of the Cold War.
Moscow seems to continue its wait-and-see tactics
Lavrov made it clear that Vladimir Putin’s administration is not only not going to abandon its violent ally, but is also not ready to seek a deal with the Belarusian democratic opposition and does not fear the prospect of increased Western sanctions and the isolation. In other words, the Kremlin is not willing to make a decision in favor of dialogue, but chooses confrontation.
The Russian Foreign Minister, according to the official BelTA news agency, announced “a great interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states by the United States and some European countries.”
«We continue to observe the use of dirty methods of the so-called color revolutions, including the manipulation of public opinion, the creation and support of openly anti-government forces and the promotion of their radicalization. We see how these methods are applied in relation to the Republic of Belarus, ”Lavrov said.
He did not mention the reasons for the massive peaceful nationwide protests that gripped Belarus more than 100 days ago, and the terror unleashed by the Lukashenka junta in response to calls for the dictator’s departure.
«Russia cannot remain indifferent. Belarus is our ally, strategic partner, and the Belarusians are our brother people. Of course, we would like the situation to be calm and stable, “he added, but warned that this must be facilitated. «as an important stage in the improvement and transformation of the political, economic and legal system ”.
In other words, Moscow seems to continue its wait-and-see approach. She turned down the opportunity to act as a potential mediator between the Belarusian democratic opposition and the Lukashenka regime and thus reap possible laurels. Lavrov angrily denied rumors of confidential contacts between Moscow and the opposition as «a blatant lie. “
Instead, the Kremlin decided, at least publicly, to induce the rejected leader, considered by many to be an illegitimate usurper, to move on. «constitutional changes ”of dubious legal force in the future and see how the situation develops.
However, the longer the Kremlin supports Lukashenka and with its silence tolerate his brutal methods and the suppression of not only democratic activities, but also national symbols, the more likely the goodwill of many Belarusians towards Russia will be lost. .
Many in the Belarusian opposition already suspect that Russia is waiting for the Belarusian economy to collapse before grabbing easy prey. They also fear that Moscow is secretly preparing pro-Russian forces that will mobilize at the right time to facilitate the absorption of Belarus into a quasi-joint Russian-Belarusian union.
Both Moscow and Minsk have long had to admit, especially since the Euromaidan and the Dignity Revolution, which toppled pro-Russian kleptocrat Viktor Yanukovych in early 2014, that Ukraine was lost in Putin’s Eurasian Moscow project and it remains an annoying beacon of pro-European democracy, however imperfect. , on its borders.
However, for some time Lukashenka, considering himself the most cunning of all, thought that he could somehow balance between Russia and his economic and energy support, on which he depended, as well as flirt with the West for selfish ends.
Until the presidential elections on August 9, which manipulated and provoked the Belarusian democratic revolution, he saw fit to maintain a supposedly friendly attitude towards West-oriented Ukraine, even if it is at war with Russia.
Before the quasi-elections, he even tried to defend the sovereignty of Belarus from Russian expansionist schemes. This summer, he tried to convince Kiev that he was willing to extradite Russian soldiers from Wagner’s PMC, suspected of committing war crimes in Donbass and detained in Minsk.
Everything changed when he faced a true national democratic revolution at home. To save his own skin, he had no choice but to humiliate himself in front of Moscow and use anti-Western rhetoric.
After Kiev agreed to join the EU sanctions against Lukashenko’s junta this month, anger from the Lukashenko and Putin regimes has escalated.
What bothers them especially is not only the unwillingness of Vladimir Zelensky’s team to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president, but also the condemnation by her, the Ukrainian parliament and civil society of the barbaric methods she uses against him. Belarusian people.
Showing this irritation, Makei said: “Ukraine is not a benchmark for us when it comes to human rights. We believe that in this situation the country cannot act as a mentor or teacher of Belarus ”.
The Belarusian Foreign Minister even hinted somewhat mysteriously that the Kiev officer had joined the sanctions against the Lukashenka regime because his own reputation was at stake.
As BelTA reports, “Makei noted that Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius recently announced that Europe is already tired of Ukraine. Therefore Ukraine is trying to appear to be a standard of democracy and respect for human rights. “
For his part, Lavrov accused Western states of not being willing to respect international rules, and the Council of Europe of trying to impose its principles even on countries that are not members of it.
«I think this is absolutely unacceptable. We will ensure that the Council of Europe, chaired by Germany, does not forget about the issues that the West is trying to silence in every possible way, ”he warned.
And what is that? A banal mantra that Moscow repeats in such situations. According to Lavrov, “this is a violation of the rights of Russian-speaking residents of the Baltic states, reforms in the field of education in Ukraine, the persecution of the Russian media and the glorification of Nazism.”
And the last remarkable detail. In his desperate attempts to ingratiate himself with Putin, Lukashenko told Lavrov that it was not necessary to restart Russian-Belarusian relations, but that they should be intensified.
And even more pitiful sounded the lament against the Kremlin ruler. Putin did not hide his regret that the disintegration of the Soviet Union was allowed. Lukashenka emphasized that this did not happen because the Belarusian people wanted it.
So now we have a beleaguered tyrant who not only rejects the current will of his people, but does not hesitate to review history and suggests that even in 1991 Belarusians would rather be under the control of Moscow.
Lukashenka’s flattering attempt to rewrite history has a problem. It was in Belarus, in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha nature reserve, that on December 8, 1991, the first leader of independent Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich held a meeting in which Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kravchuk jointly agreed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The flag of independent post-Soviet Belarus was the national white-red-white. It was banned by the Soviet rulers, and when he came to power in 1994, Lukashenko soon replaced it with a version of the Soviet-era flag. I think no further comment is needed.
To transfer Nevada… Text published since author’s permission
Original
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