Cornered, Lukashenko leans on Putin: Belarusian KGB and Russian intelligence join forces against the West

Russian and Belarusian intelligence services announced on Thursday that they would increase their cooperation in the face of what they called “aggression” from the United States and European countries. This is a new sign of the rapprochement of Alexander Lukashenko with Vladimir Putin, who became the sole supporter of the Belarusian dictator in the face of growing international pressure to which the scandalous hijacking of a plane to stop Al dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin and Belarusian Security Service (KGB) Chief Ivan Tertel said “To have reached an agreement to develop a common work of resistance to the destructive actions of the West”. According to them, Western governments are trying to “destabilize the political and socio-economic situation” in the two countries, according to a statement released by the SVR after a meeting in Vitebsk, Belarus.

The announcement and the meeting between the two intelligence chiefs come two weeks later Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, were arrested in the capital of Belarus after the plane landed due to an alleged bomb threat. After the forced landing, the European Union, along with other Western countries, called the incident “hacking” and “state hijacking” and called on airlines to Avoid Belarusian airspace.

In a clear show of support for Lukashenko, Russia blocked three European Union flights to Moscow last week, by prohibiting Air France and Austrian Airlines from modifying their itinerary in order to avoid Belarusian territory. “A change of route must be approved by the authorities. The Russian authorities did not issue this authorization, ”said a spokeswoman for Austrian Airlines, explaining why flight OS601 between Vienna and Moscow had to be canceled.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry said that “The Russian reaction does not keep any kind of proportionality”. He then asked the Kremlin “Do not artificially obstruct air traffic between Russia and Europe.”

Lukashenko, who faced unprecedented protests against his re-election last summer, has been running since then a broad crackdown on protests and accuses the West of having orchestrated it. The European Union and the United States have adopted a series of punishments primarily targeted senior regime officials in response to the mass arrests.

Lukashenko then begins the rapprochement with Russia, his neighbor and main partner, whom he previously accused of wanting to subjugate his country.. Last week, the Belarusian dictator met with Putin in Sochi, in southern Russia, to discuss deepening economic cooperation.

Belarus is increasingly dependent on Russia and this dependence could increase if the European Union fulfills its threat of economic sanctions against key sectors of the Belarusian economy. So far, over the weekend, it was known that Moscow would grant Minsk a loan of $ 500 million.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that the loan was the second installment of a package that had been agreed before the controversial landing. “Belarus has not submitted any request for further assistance,” he said, according to the agency. TASS.

In addition, Peskov revealed that during the meeting held by Putin and Lukashenko in Sochi, there were two main topics: “Further development of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Belarus, as well as the fight against the pandemic”.

(With AFP and Europa Press information)

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