"Issue Of Replacing Lukashenka Is Under Consideration"

It is also becoming increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to deal with the usurper.

The "constitutional reform " seems to be one of the important topics at the meeting of Lukashenka with Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, who unexpectedly flew to Minsk on October 22. Though it seems to be out of his beat.

After the meeting, Naryshkin told reporters that "Lukashenka's proposal about beginning of constitutional reform is one of answers to these protests, to these questions that society or a part of society poses to the current state power of the republic".

The Belarusian crisis affects Russia as well

"If an official of such a specific department starts to remind about the constitutional reform, it testifies that such reform is a strategic goal of Moscow," - Andrei Kazakevich, Director of the Institute of Political Studies "Political Sphere", Doctor of Political Sciences, stated in his comment to naviny.by.

In his turn, Valeryj Karbalevich, an expert of the Strategy analytical center (Minsk), in his comment for naviny.by expressed the opinion that "Naryshkin's visit is not accidental, the joint meeting of the special services boards is a mere pretext, he brought a message from Putin".

In Karbalevich's opinion, the Kremlin is "seeking a solution to the political crisis in the union state" by pushing Lukashenka towards constitutional reform. After all, from Moscow's point of view, the events in Belarus are a blow to both Russia and the integration ties that it initiated.

"Russia believes that it is impossible to solve the Belarusian crisis only by brute force, as Lukashenka thinks and wants it, and it is necessary to make concessions to society. And the concessions include the constitutional reform - in the dialogue with society, which is important, and early presidential elections," - the analyst says.

He believes that Lukashenka does not want to fulfill neither the first nor the second point.

"The question of replacing Lukashenka is under consideration"

Thus, although Vladimir Putin supported the Belarusian ally at the critical moment, at the peak of the August protests, now there are new tensions between them.

And when Naryshkin sent greetings to Lukashenka from Putin, whom he had met before his flight to Minsk, it sounded quite significant. It may not be a black mark yet, but it is a serious reminder that the Kremlin master remembers well all the promises that his avowed Belarusian friend made during his troubled moment.

So what does the Kremlin want from Lukashenka? "I believe that this is a question of transit. First - to change the political system, perhaps, to make it more decentralized and more democratic than it is now: the redistribution of functions in favor of parliament, parties and so on is implied. And then - new elections," - Kazakevich said.

In his opinion, "taken as a whole it means that the issue of replacing Lukashenka with someone else is under consideration".