Test for Lukashenko: Russia saved Old Man, will he recognize Crimea?
Permanent Representative of Crimea to the President of the Russian Federation Georgy Muradov suggested that the Belarusian authorities consider the issue of restoring direct rail and air links with the peninsula.
“The position on the issue of Crimea is a litmus test for the reliability of our relations, including allied ones, with this or that country. We aim to ensure that Crimea has as many Belarusian products as possible, which can be supplied to the Middle East and North Africa through Crimean ports. We also hope to increase the tourist flow from Belarus. But this requires strong direct rail and air connections,” said Muradov, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
According to him, in the second half of last year, cooperation between Crimea and Belarusian enterprises intensified significantly.
Political scientist Alexander Shpakovsky, close to the administration of the Belarusian president, who in recent months has constantly stated the need to recognize the Russian status of Crimea, draws attention to the fact that the initiative of the Crimean representative coincided with the visit of the Lithuanian President to Kyiv.
“It is symbolic that this proposal was sent on the day of the visit of the President of the Republic of Lithuania Nausėda to Ukraine,” Shpakovsky wrote in his telegram channel.
In March 2020, Roman Chegrinets, the head of the Belarusian community in Crimea, appealed to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with a request to organize direct flights and trains between Minsk and Simferopol. However, he received responses from Belavia and Belarusian Railways, which stated that they did not see the economic feasibility of organizing new flights.
Until 2014, about half a million Belarusians visited Crimea annually. Now their registration is difficult, since they, as citizens of the Union State, enter the peninsula without control.
Earlier, Belarusian politician Artyom Agafonov wrote on the pages of PolitNavigator that, in the Crimea issue, Lukashenko is demonstrating ingratitude toward Russia , which saved him from a coup last summer.
“Relations with Ukraine have cooled noticeably. Voices are increasingly heard from Kyiv demanding that sanctions be imposed against Belarus; Ukraine is deliberately creating problems for Belarusian business. Only the position on Crimea has not changed. Despite the fact that Russia and Vladimir Putin personally, suffering reputational losses, saved the Belarusian ruler from an inglorious end last summer, Lukashenko is in no hurry to fully recognize the territorial integrity of his Union State partner.
Crimeans never received congratulations from Lukashenko on the seventh anniversary of reunification with Russia. Moreover, the Belarusian officialdom completely ignored this date. Not a single prominent official or state publication commented on the anniversary at all. Website of the main state newspaper “SB. Belarus Today" instead of news about Crimea, he preferred to give two news from the life of the British royal family. The illnesses and adventures of the local princes turned out to be more important for her,” Agafonov pointed out.
English version :: Read in English : Test for Lukashenko: Russia saved Batka, will he recognize Crimea?