Political Scientist: Lukashenka’s Leakage Clearly Not Accidental
21- 27.03.2024, 17:34
- 40,438
The Belarusian dictator renders important services to Putin.
Lukashenka, and earlier the Ambassador of Belarus to the Russian Federation Dzmitry Krutoi, refuted the Kremlin's version that the terrorists who attacked the Crocus City Hall near Moscow broke into Ukraine.
Did Lukashenka accidentally say it? What are the goals of the Belarusian dictator? Charter97.org journalists addressed these questions to the famous Ukrainian political scientist, head of the Penta Center for Applied Political Research Volodymyr Fesenko:
– The Ambassador of Belarus said what he knew, ahead of the official version of Russia. This can be attributed to the dissonance caused by the situation itself.
Lukashenka did not speak out by chance. He already knew the official position of Russia, and what statement Putin made. Taking into account both the style and peculiarities of Lukashenka's political behavior, I emphasize that all this was clearly not accidental.
The main intrigue is why he did it. Indeed, there is no clarity here, the versions can be very different. I will express my personal view.
To begin with, Lukashenka, as is often the case, emphasizes his importance in this way. Like, he and the Belarusian special services actually provide Russia with various important services that the Russian Federation does not always appreciate.
This is an important fact. Whenever possible, Lukashenka emphasizes "You see, we helped you!” or “We did very important things for you." This was the case with Prigozhin because Russia did not want to highlight Lukashenka's role in this process, thus he showed what role he played in that situation.
That’s the same. Lukashenka showed it like: “You are promoting your version, but we also helped you, do not forget.” You know, it was not so much said for Putin as for the Russians.
As for relations with Putin, there is a long-standing game here. Lukashenka likes to engage in light blackmail when he has the opportunity. Like, you have your version of the terrorists and who is behind whom, and we have a little bit of our own. We may have our own point of view. If you want to fully match your position, then do us a small favour in the financial sense, and not only.
Lukashenka slightly distanced himself from the official Russian version but made quite aggressive statements in order not to be perceived as distancing, crawling away from Putin. Although this is clearly fanfare and only a demonstration of aggression, not real aggression. I am referring to his statements on the Suwalki corridor. That was clearly a demonstration of an anti-Western position.
This is Lukashenka. He, as they say, is both yours and ours. I will say that the motive for the statements is political and consumptive. It's their special relationship with Putin. Lukashenka has a long-standing complex concerning Putin and the Russian Federation. He wanted to become Yeltsin's successor, but it didn't work out: Putin crossed the road.