Lukashenko strengthens ties with Putin as he …

By Olivier Carroll *

Shocked by headlines around the world, autocratic Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko traveled to Sochi on Friday to seek assurances and support from his closest ally, Russian Vladimir Putin. The talks, which took place in the spa town of Sochi on the Black Sea, were planned for a long time. This is the third round of talks to take place this year, reflecting Moscow’s growing dependence on the 27-year-old Belarusian leader.

The main points of discussion did not differ much from those of previous meetings: more efficient for Belarus and political integration for the Kremlin. But the fallout from last week’s hijacking and the arrest of power-critical Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega added a grim backdrop to the talks, on top of the sanctions recently announced by the European Union.

Putin and Lukashenko resumed their negotiations on Saturday in the Russian resort of Sochi, which began on Friday afternoon and lasted more than 5 hours, according to official sources. A Telegram channel linked to the Belarusian president reported that Saturday’s conversations took place in an informal setting and posted an image in which Putin and Lukashenko chat aboard a yacht.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting between the two leaders was “constructive”. Peskov stressed that Belarus had provided Russia with “all the necessary information” on the Ryanair plane incident, but that if there was such a need, it could provide “more data”. So far, the Kremlin has refrained from publicly criticizing the official Belarusian narrative., who claims that a bomb threat was sent from Switzerland. The request was rejected by the Swiss.

For the controversial Belarusian president, these are decisive talks. Belarusian unreformed economy was already struggling before Ryanair incident. It is said that The European Union is only two weeks away from imposing new severe sanctions on the country’s main exports.

Regarding these sanctions against Belarus, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel considered this Monday that are “correct” and “necessary” after the “regrettable” action of the Minsk government. Similarly, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, argued that the measures were necessary in the face of “the unacceptable intrusion” from Minsk.

Handmade cap, Lukashenko admitted this weekend that he needed more Russian money to avoid an economic “collapse”.. If you’re worried that you won’t get what you expect from Vladimir Putin, you sure haven’t shown it. During an impromptu press conference at Minsk airport before boarding his plane to Sochi, the self-proclaimed dictator berated his finance minister, who “dared” to wish him good luck in the negotiations.

“Luck is a word they would advise you to keep to yourself”, He said Lukashenko. “Decisions will be what I say they will be. I will simply present them as facts. I can open any Russian door and they know it well“he added.

Former head of Soviet collective farm has historically managed to glean a lot in negotiations with the Kremlin. According to David Marples, a professor at the University of Alberta, Canada, his tactic of playing ‘east against west’, while promising greater integration, allowed him to get away with the fury of many in the Kremlin. .

But Lukashenko’s recent behavior has changed the fundamentals of this equation. On the one hand, he no longer has the West to play in the negotiations. On the other hand, even Kremlin officials are starting to question whether the cost of integration is worth it.

“There is a growing feeling that Lukashenko has taken Moscow hostage”, dice Constantine Kalachev, a political expert based in Moscow. “The feeling inside the Kremlin is worrying: you can’t not support it, but you can’t support it either,” he adds.

From The Independent of Great Britain. Special for page12. Translation: Celita Doyhambéhère.