Frydman: Lukashenka Turned The Country Into An Instrument Of The Kremlin's Foreign Policy Adventure

What does the series of events of recent days indicate?

The extension of the exercises was not a surprise, but it was a statement of the fact that Belarus fell under the external control of the Kremlin. Political analyst Aliaksandr Frydman spoke about the decision to leave Russian troops.

Frydman writes:

— February 20, 2022, will go down in the history of Belarus and will go down with a minus sign.

The statement of Minister of Defense Khrenin that Russian troops will remain in Belarus (actually for an indefinite period) is the main event of this day.

The state propaganda of Belarus is trying to divert attention from this unpleasant (even for some of Lukashenka’s supporters) topic: after all, Lukashenka, trying to maintain his regime, not only made Belarus economically and politically dependent on Russia but also allowed the country to turn into an instrument of the Kremlin’s foreign policy adventure, which risks resulting in a bloody war in Europe.

The extension of the exercises did not come as a surprise for NATO: they saw another confirmation of Russia's aggressive plans towards Ukraine from this. American and European publications, in their turn, emphasize that Belarus has lost much of its sovereignty over the past week and even fell under the external control of the Kremlin.

I find such an exaggeration to be excessive, the series of events of recent days does not give much cause for optimism: Lukashenka (rather as a joke) said in Moscow on Friday that his fate would be decided by his “big brother”; on Saturday, he played the role of an honorary statistician in the framework of the Russian exercises of the strategic deterrence forces, and now the news has come about the extension of the stay of Russian troops in Belarus.