MEP: Lukashenka Increasingly Resembles A Puppet

His autonomy was reduced to zero.

Belsat TV channel recorded an interview with German MEP Viola von Cramon-Taubadel in Strasbourg, who represents the Alliance 90/The Greens party.

– Large Russian military exercises are held in Belarus. What do you think about the role of Belarus in Putin's aggressive behavior towards Ukraine and the West?

– As you can see, the Belarusian sovereignty has narrowed almost to zero. That is to say that the space of your country in the sense of sovereignty and national integrity almost disappeared. It looks especially dangerous and scary on a larger scale: Putin has already announced his intentions to reunite the so-called "Russian world", to glue the pieces of the former Soviet empire back together. Obviously, Belarus is the first piece of the puzzle, the first step towards this reunification.

– To what extent do you think Lukashenka remains independent as a politician?

- He increasingly resembles a puppet, especially in financial terms. This long ago has become a reality, but Lukashenka has become an absolute puppet since Putin completely had a hand in this puppet. Look at the attacks of Russian troops from the north, from the east against Ukraine, Lukashenka shows absolutely no resistance to these attacks! He always had very close connections with Ukraine, but that relationship has ended and this is very disappointing to the Ukrainians, the neighbors of Belarus.

– How do you understand Putin's policy towards Ukraine, what does he need and why is he so aggressive?

– The main concern and, at the same time, the main fear of Putin is a free, democratic, independent Ukraine. He will do everything to ensure that such a Ukraine will never exist. He took the first steps in this direction during the invasion in 2014, he annexed Crimea. Then he faced sanctions, but, unfortunately, they were not tough enough. He did not strike at full strength on Putin and his entourage. They meant virtually nothing to him since he has built up 630 billion euros in foreign exchange reserves, and this reserve is enough for him, as well as enough strength and power to continue on his way.

– Some do indicate that the war had to begin yesterday, and others think that it is just a kind of pressing, and Putin will not continue with the open aggression. What do you think about it?

– There are many speculations about it. Obviously, the United States intelligence is trying to find as much information about it as possible to make sure that the West is prepared for everything. You can, of course, have many arguments in favor of the invasion version, but for Ukraine, as an independent country, this threat carries strong economic and financial damage, as well as a heavy burden of psychological threat, and not only because of the massive presence of troops on its eastern border but also because of the escapement of a significant part of the diplomatic corps from the country. Almost no civil aviation flies over Ukraine today, which means that the country could be isolated. However, what do we do? We must isolate Russia, not Ukraine.

– Is there any possibility to satisfy Putin without resentment, harm to the interests of Ukraine?

– What do you mean by Putin's satisfaction?..

– I mean, to stop his plans.

– Certainly, all this requires a strong and solid answer from the side of the West, including in the form of sanctions. It is vital for us to reduce our energy dependence on Russia. We must make sure that Ukraine is protected by the countries of the European Union. Moreover, we need to be sure that it is Russia that will suffer for such a policy, not Ukraine and not the European Union. I hope that our message to the Kremlin was clear. And we will see what the result of all this will be, including after the negotiations between Chancellor Scholz and Putin.

– Germany is criticized for the fact that it not only does not transfer weapons to Ukraine but also forbade the Baltic States to transfer German-made weapons. Doesn't that destroy the Atlantic unity? Is Berlin playing along with Moscow?

– There are heated debates on this subject, and I'm not sure that they are of much use. Ukraine receives a lot of assistance from Germany: financial, technical - all kinds of assistance, there is a lot of it, especially over the past 7-8 years. We are a very reliable and significant partner of Ukraine. Other countries may be considering more military supplies to Ukraine than Germany. I know that the leadership of Ukraine sent their requests for the supply of German weapons, but if you look at the overall package of assistance to Ukraine from the European Union, I think that every EU member state that provides this assistance can play a role in this process. However, there is no absolute need for Germany to supply weapons to Ukraine. Personally, I am only in favor of a wider debate on this topic in Germany itself. You know that principles in this delicate ground are longer-term in order to rapidly overcome the current crisis.

– What should happen for Germany to stop Nord Stream 2?

– I don't think there was such a person in the German government who didn't stress that Nord Stream should be stopped if Russia attacks Ukraine. As a representative of the Green Party, I would like such a statement to be announced even earlier, as a warning! Today, I would like to hear from my government that Nord Stream 2 will never be connected, and will not work, due to the current threat of war against Ukraine. This threat of war is already doing a lot of harm to Ukraine today, exerting strong pressure, and in these conditions, without the withdrawal of Russian troops from combat positions, we will not be ready to connect and certify Nord Stream 2. The government has already stated that Nord Stream will not function in the event of an invasion of the territory of Ukraine. But in my opinion, again, a warning announcement of this would be a more effective step.