"Lukashenko Is Cast As A Puppet Here"

The EU has a range of tools at its disposal to put pressure on the dictator.

A new dangerous provocation has been reported on the border between Latvia and Belarus. Armed, masked men attempted to direct a group of migrants toward Latvian territory. They threatened military personnel and later entered Latvia, damaged border infrastructure, and took surveillance cameras.

How should this incident on the Latvian-Belarusian border be interpreted? The website Charter97.org spoke with the leader of the “European Belarus” civic campaign Andrei Sannikov:

— This is an episode of Russia’s hybrid war against European countries. It should be viewed not as a provocation against a single European country—Latvia—but as a provocation against NATO. Lukashenko is playing the role of a puppet here: he is carrying out Putin’s orders, who hopes to weaken European states’ support for Ukraine by escalating provocations, hybrid attacks, and subversive activities. He and his officials are stating this almost openly.

— What pressure points of the Lukashenko regime can the West target in response to such actions?

— The European Union has a whole arsenal of tools at its disposal to exert pressure and prevent such provocations. As always, there is a lack of political will.

To begin with, Belarus is a bottleneck for transport flows, which is important not only for Belarus but also for Russia and China. Restrictions in this area can rein in the aggressor fairly quickly.

Europe reacts very weakly to such acts of sabotage, and strong statements about increasing pressure to prevent provocations somehow end up amounting to a creeping recognition of the dictator Lukashenko.

And any indecision or steps toward recognizing the regime result in even more aggressive behavior on the part of the regime. This is basic logic, and it encourages dictators to take harsh actions against democratic states around the world.

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