Moscow has no alternative options to Lukashenko
Attempts to turn Belarus into a Russian federal district could lead to the opposite results.
This opinion was expressed by international political scientist and chairman of the presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Fyodor Lukyanov, in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Belarus is now a space of our intense competition with that power that, even three hundred or four hundred years ago, was our main enemy. Now behind this power - Poland - stands a united Europe. I really hope that we have reached the phase of our transformation that the extreme “until Belarus becomes our Western Federal District, we will have no peace” is no longer considered a real political course. This is fraught with the opposite result,” says Lukyanov.
At the same time, he considers it vitally important to ensure that Belarus is closely integrated with Russia economically, and that its authorities take into account Russian political interests.
“To what extent Lukashenko is now contributing to the solution of this problem is part of the next discussion. But objectively, there is no alternative there that Russia could rely on,” the international expert believes.
He admits that part of Belarusian society will no longer accept Lukashenko’s regime, but can only come to terms with its existence for a while.
“But, realistically speaking, Russia cannot make a sharp turn in its policy. There is no need to do this.
Theoretically, one can, of course, support the Opposition Coordination Council. But, having come to power, he will display the European flag and say “thank you, this is what we fought for!” Not an option. What is the option then? Now it is necessary to have a very precise understanding of what exactly is happening in Belarus - and not so much in society as in the ruling conglomerate. If such an understanding emerges, it will become clear what room for maneuver we have,” Lukyanov concluded.
Moscow has no alternatives to Lukashenko.