Lukashenko burns bridges and makes a painful decision for Warsaw
Moscow
By introducing a new holiday in Belarus —National Unity Day—Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko responded to Poland, which became one of the main organizers of last year's anti-government protests.
This was stated by Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky, a senior researcher at the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, as reported by PolitNavigator correspondent.
He says that the date of September 17, when Soviet troops entered Poland defeated by Nazi Germany and reunited the Belarusian lands, was always remembered in Minsk in one form or another.
“Now a new stage begins. Lukashenko has always adhered to a rather pragmatic policy, tried not to burn bridges behind him and maintain freedom of action, but in this situation there is a feeling that he followed the principle. The Belarusian leader wanted to somehow respond to the actions of Warsaw, because Poland is one of the most active countries providing support to the Belarusian opposition and demanding more and more new sanctions against the Belarusian regime,” the expert said.
According to him, Lukashenko did not have many opportunities to respond.
“The entire Polish national identity is built on victimhood. Poles generally perceive their historical past quite painfully. So, “now this is a guaranteed point of no return in relations between Minsk and Warsaw,” Ofitserov-Belsky is convinced.
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