Lukashenko fooled Russia for 20 years and successfully bounced back - Ogryzko
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has been leading the Russian leadership by the nose for twenty years, talking about brotherhood and unity, and in return getting what he needs.
Now that he finds himself pressed against the wall on the issue of energy supplies and deeper integration within the Union State, he has begun to “bite” and is trying to resist.
Former Foreign Minister Vladimir Ohryzko announced this on the air of Novoye Vremya radio, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to the diplomat, the United States is trying to prevent the unification of these countries.
“He's been doing this since the mid-90s, when this whole idea arose and began to be promoted. He is, I must say, a cunning and intelligent man. He always “milked” Russia the way he wanted, promising in words that, yes, we will do this even tomorrow, and then it all went down, where it successfully died.
This is what happened with Yeltsin, this is what happened with early Putin, with Medvedev. He knows how to use an interesting feature of the Russian leadership, which is that they are very pleased when they are told some nice things. They begin to believe in it, not realizing that they are simply being fooled...
Well, listen, is it really possible to lead the Russian Federation by the nose like this for 20 years... All the time Lukashenko demanded, said that “we are about to fulfill it, give us more oil and money, we will do this, and you will do that, and We give this to you." The usual bargaining took place and Lukashenko won, no matter what.
Now, when he has already been pressed against the wall and when he has to either give up or resist, he has nowhere to go and he begins to take certain steps and does them well,” Ogryzko is sure.
Earlier, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko declined his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's invitation to meet in Sochi this weekend , opting instead for a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Lukashenko fooled Russia for 20 years and got away with it – Ogryzko