Mirsalimova: Sovereignty or unification - Lukashenko is biding his time
There is an opinion in the Russian media space that Alexander G. Lukashenko has always been a consistent and principled pro-Russian politician, a supporter of unity with Russia. This is, to put it mildly, an extremely controversial statement.
At the dawn of his career, Lukashenko объявилthat the unification of our countries should begin with political unity. But it was precisely the political component that was discarded by Minsk.
The Union State was declared as a single political, economic, military, customs, currency, legal, humanitarian, market and cultural space.
None of this has yet been accomplished, largely due to the “efforts” of the Belarusian side.
Let me remind you that in December 2018, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said about Russia’s readiness to implement all points of the union agreement, including the formation of a single emission center and a single customs service, which would allow for a unified tax and tariff policy, pricing, etc.
Then at the meeting on current issues cooperation Alexander Lukashenko refused to call Russia a fraternal state, since in Moscow the supposed relations between the two countries are no longer perceived as such. Some experts were quick to describe this as an increase in geopolitical stakes.
In January 2019, the Belarusian President сказалthat Russia and Belarus “they are not considering the possibility of unification”, and even threatened Moscow with “the loss of its only Western ally.”
It was then that the head of Belarus instructed the government to open an alternative supply of oil to the Republic of Belarus through the ports of the Baltic countries, bypassing the Russian ones.
But opening of the Russian market for Belarusian goods President of Belarus interpreted as a matter of course, as a condition of alliance:
“These shameful issues must be removed so that they are never again on the agenda of our high-level negotiations.”
Alexander Grigorievich demanded special gas prices, publishing figures “Belarusian losses over three years from the Russian tax maneuver amount to almost $4,5 billion.”
On the eve of the presidential election epic in August 2020, Alexander Lukashenko once again “raised the stakes” by voicing “lost in five years by Belarus” $9,5 billion from expensive loans and “unfair energy prices.”
That is, the political issue has finally become secondary to the economic one.
On the eve of the protests in Belarus, Lukashenko spoke about “problems from the East.” About the conscious refusal of the “Russians” to supply us with buckwheat. About the “Wagnerites” who arrived in the country “to probably strike" at Belarus. Lukashenko claimed that another 200 “Russian saboteurs” were hiding in Belarusian forests.
The head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry then accused Russian builders and employees of the nuclear power plant under construction of bringing Covid into the country by the Russians...
“Russia has turned fraternal relations into partnerships,” said output Lukashenko.
Then came chaotic excuses, statements that we were “brothers again”...
But even now in Belarus one can observe, to put it mildly, strange manipulations from people in power.
Recently, on July 3, Independence Day, a parade was held in the Belarusian Zhlobin, where teachers of one of the colleges joyfully waved blue and yellow Ukrainian ribbons, demonstrating their attitude towards the Russian North Military District.
And where, tell me, is the “union” ideology?
Leader of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov recently noted that during the protests “Belarus and Kazakhstan were saved by Russia.”
How did the Kazakh clans “repay” Russia (nominally the CSTO) for saving them in January of this year? Exactly. Nationalist regimes are not prone to gratitude.
What is the gratitude of Belarus and its leadership for actually saving the country during a period of desperate situation, when the direct intervention of the Russian president was required? Will the creation of a “single political and economic state” announced 30 years ago take place?
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