Russian media: Lukashenka provokes revolution in Belarus

The Russian mass media think the Belarusian dictator provokes the EU, Russia, and US to reach an accord on Belarus’s future.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka again criticized Russia in his annual address to the people and “parliament” and received ousted president of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev on the same day. Moscow regarded this as a clearly unfriendly step and rebuked him of “giving residence to the people who have lost job”, Rosbalt news agency writes.

“We have tackled the crisis, and we have to thank not Russia, our dear Russia, our mother Russia. Who have we to thank? Our so called enemies, the IMF, Europe, West. They gave us loans that helped the country to survive,” the Belarusian ruler said. He harshly criticized the Russia’s “pragmatism” and supposed the Russian leadership bases on a principle ““they don’t have another way out”. “But we have,” Lukashenka promised. “A country in the center of Europe won’t be empty. I cannot afford insulting my own people. We’ll live in dugouts, but we will survive!”. Lukashenka announced serious economic innovations to be set up, that demonstrate poor state of the Belarus’s financial system, though the country says it won’t cooperate with the IMF in the nearest future. In particular, he mentioned radical revising accounting system and ban for governmental grants for the agriculture.

His speech was followed by questions. One of them was about the president of Kyrgyzstan. As Alyaksandr Lukashenka said, Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his family had been received in Minsk. “They in Minsk under the protection of our state and me personally,” the Belarusian ruler said. “He is a president of a friendly country. I will do everything I can to protect him and his family.” Besides, Alyaksandr Lukashenka ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government to render “humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan”.

It wasn’t an ordinary event. Taking into account the fact that Moscow in fact supports the interim government of Kyrgyzstan, Lukashenka, who publically said about his support of the ousted president, interfered with Russia’s policy in Central Asia. The Kremlin would probably prefer not to turn attention to this, as there is plenty of other grounds for conflict with Belarusian partners on the single customs area. But Lukashenka’s public announcement of the fact of Bakiyev’s staying in Minsk was only the beginning.

The Belarusian ruler said next day the upcoming elections in Kyrgyzstan couldn’t be held without the deposed president. Feeling support of Lukashenka, Bakiyev said he was still the head of state, in spite of conditions, under which he and his family had left the county, agreed on by Russia, the US, Kazakhstan and China.

This statement couldn’t arouse anything but irritation. The head of the interim government Roza Otunbaeva suggested the international institutions responsible for transfer of Bakiyev to return him back in order the people of Kyrgyzstan to take a decision on his future. A source from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Moscow doesn’t consider the Kyrgyz politician the president, as he signed his resignation.

Russia went further: the attempts of CIS partner and “union state” member to provide its own policy in Central Asia was so strong that president Dmitry Medvedev couldn’t restrain from caustic hints regarding Lukashenka. After a number of strategic agreements with another “brother” state’s colleague Viktor Yanukovich had been signed in Kharkiv, Medvedev pointed Ukraine as an example and called to “watch how the statements are followed by results”. There’s a question: for what and for the sake of what. Real partnership is one thing, but declaration of intentions is another thing. One thing is serious work, another thing is to take a decision on granting residence for people, who have lost job,” the Russian leader rebuked Lukashenka.

So, it’s not excluded that being inspired by sudden rapprochement with Poland and Ukraine, Russia will dare to further toughen it policy towards Belarus. Alyaksandr Lukashenka realizes that he continues to lose leverage over the largest neighbour, but tries to find new means of pressure, as the events with Bakiyev shows.

However, he hasn’t gained much success, as his awkward diplomatic actions affect not only Moscow’s interests, but also violate acting unofficial arrangement between Russia, China and the US. As a result, bewaring of a collusion of the big states aimed at overthrowing him like Bakiyev, Lukashenka seems to provoke reaching Kyrgyzstan-like friendly arrangement on Belarus’s future between the EU, Russia, and the US.