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September 14, 9:00 p.m.
Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Sochi (Photo: Presidential Executive Office of Russia / Brochure via REUTERS)
The official themes of the meeting are “the development of bilateral relations of association and strategic alliance”, as well as the discussion of issues of the State Union. However, in reality, Lukashenka’s negotiations with Putin can only mean one thing: as the authoritative British publication The Economist writes, “in exchange for Russian support, the autocrat is preparing to sell his country.”
Lukashenka prefers a conversation with Vladimir Putin to establishing a dialogue with the protesters, in addition to communicating with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The president of the Russian Federation, whose main political opponent Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent, approved of the falsification of Lukashenka’s elections and his use of violence, the newspaper said.
Putin has already assured the dictator of a neighboring country that he will provide military assistance if necessary; he sent his own propagandists and consultants to work in Belarus and, in addition, he sent a delegation led by the prime minister to discuss financial support for the Lukashenka regime.
At the same time, the West’s reaction was fragmented, slow and weak, according to The Economist. The position of the Baltic states and Poland, which in the 20th century personally faced the occupation of the USSR, expressed a harsher stance on Lukashenka’s actions, while Germany and France seem to have listened to Putin’s warning to the western countries of stay away from this situation. …
Journalists believe that «The EU should speak louder about Belarus, and with one voice. ”In his opinion, simply asking Putin to refrain from sending troops to the country is not enough, because the Russian invasion of Belarus was unlikely from the beginning. Kremlin master wants a deeper integration of the two countries to gain control over the defense sphere, internal security and key economic assets of Belarus, says the magazine article.
In return, Lukashenka could one day land a symbolic post in Moscow. Russia may be waiting for a soft version of the Anschluss, say British journalists. However, its configuration will not matter, it is still as unacceptable as the Russian annexation of Ukrainian Crimea in 2014.
«Belarusians have risen. They will not silently obey Moscow’s decrees and will continue to gather large-scale protests. They deserve support. The EU should impose personal sanctions against Lukashenka and his henchmen. Furthermore, they must imply that any agreement with Russia signed by Lukashenka and relating to a people that has rejected him clearly has no legal basis or force. No one should acknowledge a dishonest deal made by a desperate despot who will sell his country to save himself, “concluded The Economist.
