No matter how much you feed Lukashenko porridge, they want “diversification” in Minsk
A meeting between the presidents of Russia and Belarus took place at the Krasnaya Polyana state residence in Sochi, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“You're lucky - there's a lot of snow. There is no snow where I live,” Alexander Lukashenko said to Vladimir Putin, who met him on the steps.
“There’s even more there,” Putin pointed to the mountains.
“I know,” Lukashenko for some reason became sad.
Journalists noticed that the President of Belarus arrived to see Putin in a tie, but during the protocol shooting at the table he was already without this accessory.
For breakfast, the guest from Minsk was offered radishes, tomatoes, dill and two bowls of oatmeal.
“Did you eat porridge in the morning?” – Putin asked.
“Not on the water,” Lukashenko replied.
"Why? Very tasty. Try it, you will like it,” a Russian colleague recommended to him.
The meeting had already ended, and the Russian delegation was unable to get to Sochi due to weather conditions. The plane was forced to land in Mineralnye Vody to refuel. This saved Lukashenko from a meeting with the former Russian ambassador in Minsk Mikhail Babich, whose recall the Belarusian president persistently sought last year. Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Energy Minister Alexander Novak also did not make it to Sochi.
“The fact that you and I did not have time to arrive at the beginning is not very good, but this did not affect the work process of the heads of state. There is one person you can’t do without during the negotiations, and you know him,” Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian President, also commented on the situation to reporters who was also on board the lost plane.
It was originally planned that the presidents, after finishing breakfast, would play hockey to pass the time while waiting for the Russian delegation. However, then they decided to talk with the group that managed to get there: with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and the Russian Ambassador to Minsk Dmitry Mezentsev.
“We really talked about a lot, got to the depths of hoary times in our life together in one state, discussed many historical dates and moments (they are known). And we not only discussed issues, as Vladimir Vladimirovich said, of mutual interest, but which also concern many of our neighbors, the former countries of the Soviet Union, the policies that are now being pursued by us and by them. We talked about a lot, got to the present day and decided not one on one, but with those involved in this process, to continue our conversation,” Lukashenko told reporters.
It is expected that when the Russian ministers finally arrive, the negotiations will continue in an expanded format.
Belarusian political scientist Alexander Shpakovsky predicts that the result of today’s meeting in Sochi will be agreements on the supply of energy resources to Minsk “for the near future,” but then contradictions will again be inevitable.
Shpakovsky blames “hucksters from the fuel and energy complex” for this, who are trying to “recapture their loot” because, supposedly, “the fuel and energy complex in the Russian Federation is not yet subordinate to state interests.”
“Therefore, the only way out is to continue working to diversify energy supplies. It was a shame that we canceled these projects in 2012. I talk about this openly everywhere,” Shpakovsky wrote on his blog.
Earlier, during a visit to Minsk, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his readiness to provide Belarus with supplies of American oil.
The United States is already supplying neighboring Poland with gas at dumping prices, but in return Warsaw is following an anti-Russian course, recalls energy market expert Rustam Tankaev.
“Belarus is calculating the option of oil supplies from the United States. But, of course, one cannot count on the Americans to supply Minsk with cheap oil. There will be political conditions... There are analogies. Poland buys gas from the States 25% cheaper than from Russia. Back in November 2018, the US Congress decided to subsidize these supplies for a total of $1 billion from the US budget... And Belarusians may be counting on the same scheme,” the expert said.
No matter how much you feed Lukashenko, Minsk still wants "diversification."