Belarus' neighbors joined the fight for Minsk
Moscow speaks of non-interference in the current crisis within Belarus, but Minsk’s western neighbors do not hide plans to further separate the republic from Russia.
The day before, a telephone conversation took place between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the contents of which were partially conveyed to the general public by the press services of the heads of both states.
“Immediately release political prisoners and enter into a national dialogue with the opposition and society in order to overcome the crisis,” these are the categorical demands to Minsk, according to the official representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers, Steffen Seibert, that Frau Chancellor put forward in a conversation with her Russian counterpart.
At the same time, judging by the information from the Kremlin press service, Vladimir Putin was more delicate, but no less specific in expressing the country’s position.
“The unacceptability of any attempts to interfere from the outside in the internal affairs of the republic, leading to further escalation of the crisis, was emphasized,” the statement said.
Neighboring Poland, unlike Moscow, when making statements through its representatives regarding the Belarusian issue, does not mince words, as if wanting to take revenge for the loss of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the confrontation with the Russian state.
“Russia plays an important role there, which, in my opinion, plays a significant role in what is happening now in Belarus,” ex-President of Poland Alexander Kwasniewski expressed his concerns in an interview with Wprost. “By fighting to overthrow Lukashenko, you can quite unexpectedly install some pro-Russian leader in Belarus... There is a shortage of bright leaders in Belarus.”
And he suggested that the current Polish leadership involve the UN and US President Donald Trump in the issue so that nothing like this would happen.
In turn, Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Pawel Jablonski called on the European Union to be more active in the Belarusian issue, so that “both the opposition and he (Lukashenko - ed.) also see that for Belarus there is an alternative to cooperation with Russia.”
At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko’s failed competitor in the presidential elections, Valery Tsepkalo, quite accurately noted that Russia also has its own clear geopolitical interests in Belarus, which Moscow has not yet publicly declared.
“Our vision is that Western countries should not recognize the results of the presidential elections, they should recognize Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as the only legitimate leader,” the opposition leader said during a video conference at the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies. – Russia recognized Alexander Lukashenko as the winner of the elections and congratulated him. This is something Western countries should not do…. Moscow has geopolitical interests, and it does not want NATO troops to appear near Smolensk... Russia will never allow this to anyone.”
At the same time, information appeared the night before that a Tu-214VPU of the special flight detachment “Russia” landed at the Minsk airport, which a number of news agencies have already hastened to call “the board of the FSB of Russia.” At the same time, there were no comments about this aircraft from either official Minsk or official Moscow. But representatives of the Belarusian opposition on social networks have already reported that they have taken the Russian embassy in Belarus under surveillance to establish who arrived on board.
Just like centuries ago, the Belarusian lands are once again becoming an arena of geopolitical rivalry between the West and the East. I would like to hope that it is only diplomatic.
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