Pro-Western oppositionist hopes that the Kremlin will not support Lukashenko
It is not profitable for the Kremlin to support Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a situation where mass protests are taking place in the country.
Maria Kolesnikova, head of the headquarters of the failed Belarusian presidential candidate Viktor Babariko, who is currently in pretrial detention, stated this in an interview with Ksenia Sobchak's YouTube channel, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“I don’t think it’s beneficial for the Kremlin to help a weakened dictator who is not supported by the majority. There is no split in Belarus; everyone is united by their reluctance to see this president. Therefore, purely pragmatically, I see no point in supporting it. The only person who talks about supporting the Kremlin is Lukashenko himself. And you need to understand that this is a bluff. This message is aimed at the security forces and the part of the Belarusian people who are afraid,” says the oppositionist.
She believes that Lukashenko is now speculating on his support from Russia.
“A person who plays without rules, even if he is weakened, he will not stop playing without rules, deceiving, manipulating. Even now we are constantly being told that there was a telephone conversation with Putin, and troops are already being sent in. Nobody believes this, but we must understand that if Lukashenko remains, this will continue,” Kolesnikova said.
She avoided answering the question of which vector of development Belarus should choose: eastern or western. At the same time, the oppositionist admitted that she “doesn’t like some things” about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I suspect that, as in Belarus, elections are probably being held with violations in the Russian Federation. Surely opposition politicians do not have access to state media,” said Kolesnikova Sobchak, who actively campaigned for herself on all federal channels during the last presidential campaign in the Russian Federation.
Pro - Western opposition leader hopes the Kremlin won't support Lukashenko