John Bolton As a Defender of the Belarusian Independence

The visit of the adviser to the U.S. president to Minsk may become historic.

Information about the visit of the U.S. presidential adviser on national security, John Bolton, to Minsk, was almost sensational. After all, there is not even an American ambassador in Belarus.

Although in the last year, contacts between Minsk and Washington D.C. have become more frequent. In late October 2018, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wes Mitchell visited Belarus. In March and July 2019, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent was in Minsk. Most recently, on August 13-14, a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives headed by Congressman Mike Quigley visited Belarus.

On July 16-18, 2019, Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Aleh Krauchenka visited Washington D.C.

As for the visit of the U.S. presidential advisor in the field of national security, John Bolton, it should be noted that he will visit Minsk on his way from Kyiv. That is, the Belarusian case is a seasoning to the main course.

Geopolitics brings Belarus back into the mainstream of American politics. All experts conclude that Bolton's current visit is connected with Russia's desire to force Minsk to "further integration". This is not a secret. For example, during the recent visit of the delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives headed by Congressman Mike Quigley, the U.S. Embassy in Minsk reported that its purpose was "to highlight the U.S. commitment to support the sovereignty and independence of Belarus".

In July 2019, during a visit to Minsk by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, I had a chance to speak with him. He was interested in one thing: the Belarusian-Russian relations, the scale of the Moscow threat to the sovereignty of Belarus. Uncovered pressure of Russia on Belarus causes concern of Washington D.C.

By the way, Lukashenka did not meet with either George Kent or Congressman Mike Quigley. He used to host American politicians of such rank. I guess it is the same reason why the ruler has been rejecting all invitations to visit the EU for two years already. He does not want to annoy Moscow at the moment of very intense Belarusian-Russian negotiations.

There is one more thing. The United States withdrew from the INF Treaty and recently tested a new missile with a range beyond that agreement. Putin said that if such missiles appear in Europe, Russia will respond. Russian missiles may be deployed on Belarusian territory. Perhaps Bolton would like to explore this issue during the negotiations in Minsk.

As for the discussion of the fate of the Minsk accords on Ukraine and the role of Belarus in the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, I don't think it's of Bolton's interest. A new summit in the "Normandy format" (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France) will be held in Paris next month, according to Angela Merkel. Probably, the Minsk accords will soon be replaced or greatly extended by the Paris agreements.

Anyway, John Bolton's visit to Minsk may become historic. First of all, as a warning that the U.S. will not tolerate a new redistribution of the Eastern Europe region.

Valery Karbalevich, Radio Svaboda