Roman Bezsmertny: Ukraine needs to abandon Minsk as place for negotiations

Minsk is not a European game, but Putin's zone of influence, and Kiev should be free from it.

Roman Bezsmertny, the leader of the Third Ukrainian Republic party and the former Ambassador of Ukraine in Minsk, stated that, commenting on Lukashenka's refusal to participate in a parade in Moscow on May 9, Novoe Vremya writes.

"Lukashenka clearly understands he should find ways to must distance himself from imperialist and aggressive Kremlin", Roman Bezsmertny believes. - Besides, he does his best to prevent Belarus's entering into Eurasian economic space. So, he takes strategic steps which will help him to avoid a conflict with Ukraine and Baltic countries.

Here is a quite complex situation for Lukashenka: it is clear that the whipping up of the flywheel of conflict plays into Putin's hands. The master of the Kremlin did not shoot out his cuffs in Ukraine and the field for his maneuver there is very limited. But here are possible prospects, which relate to involvement in war of other countries and territories.

Hence the reaction of Lukashenka, who is trying to protect himself from imperial ambitions of Kremlin's master. Belarusian President realizes that Putin could use it to raise his rating, therefore his refusal to stay in Moscow for the Victory parade is a step dictated by the instinct of self-preservation".

Roman Bezsmertny notes that refusal to participate in the parade in Moscow is not the first and definitely not the final conflict between Putin and Lukashenka.

"It is likely that Moscow, in its turn, will revise prices on energy, require repaying debts, stop privatization of certain objects", he writes. - However, the parade itself and the participation of some European representatives, as well as their status, are of greater importance for the outside world than for the Russians. Now the RF is so militarized and bound up in war and conflict that it does not matter for its citizens who will take stands during the parade. It is significant only for the international community - Europe, the USA, Ukraine. And Russia is addicted to propaganda TV, and whatever it tells the Russians will accept it at face-value.

So, they even will not express their discontent by Belarusian president. There will be a repeated shifting from foot to foot concerning debts, privatization, and gas prices increase and so on.

Besides, Lukashenka's actions are an attempt to keep Minsk as a platform for dialogue between Moscow and Kiev, but Ukraine needs to abandon it as it is a foreign territory. Minsk is not a European game, but Putin's zone of influence, and we need to be free from it.