Lukashenko's American fantasies will not affect Putin
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko himself is of no importance to the United States.
This opinion was expressed in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets by Konstantin Zatulin, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots, answering the question of how serious the emerging rapprochement between Belarus and the United States is.
“We already know Alexander Grigorievich quite well. I do not rule out that he may have some fantasies about the possibility of rapprochement with the United States. Although common sense should have told him that all the desires of the United States are tied solely to the desire to somehow drive a wedge between Russia and Belarus. Lukashenko himself is not important or interesting for the United States. If such a 180-degree turn actually happened, then very soon Belarus would have its own Saakashvili. But all people tend to delude themselves. For those who have been at the head of the state for so long, such seductions are doubly dangerous,” Zatulin said.
According to him, it seems to the Belarusian president that he can manipulate Russia by taking this kind of action, but this will not affect Vladimir Putin.
“As far as I imagine our president, in domestic politics he is not at all inclined to make decisions under pressure. And the chatter that we will now buy a heifer overseas for half a pound causes nothing but irritation. Lukashenko has lied a lot lately, for example, about the fact that the Russian Federation sells oil to Belarus at a price higher than the world price,” the politician noted.
He clarified that the cost of Russian oil for Belarus is 83 percent of the world price.
“Yes, this margin has decreased slightly - it was 80% of the global one, and today it is 83%. But even 17% are not lying around on the road. But oil must not only be bought, but also delivered. One experiment has already been carried out, but for some reason there is no fanfare. I'm talking about Belarus' purchase of 86 tons of Norwegian oil. What is the price of this oil? How to deliver it? Via Klaipeda? Belarus needs 8 million tons. And only three million tons pass through Klaipeda during the year. Is it possible to meet the needs of the oil refining industry in Belarus in this way?” says the State Duma deputy.
“I think Putin has strong nerves, and this US maneuver is obvious to him. And he understands that without the help of the Russian Federation, the whole story of the successful economy of Belarus ends immediately. As for all kinds of attempts to influence the imagination with meetings with Pompeo, here we need to be patient and take into account the complexes of our Belarusian colleague,” concluded Zatulin.
As PolitNavigator reported, the USA Belarus is being prepared for the role of the next anti-Russian vassal on the borders with the Russian Federation.
Additionally, Lukashenka said that in the United States they know better than him about relations with the Russian Federation and said that Washington promised help in the confrontation with Moscow.
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