When will Putin get tired of paying for Lukashenko’s madness? 4th VIDEOcomment

26.11.2020

The only one who needs Lukashenko to some extent is Putin. However, it seems that the Russian president, by supporting the dictator, which is no longer supported by the majority of the society, will not improve Lukashenko’s image, but rather damage his own. Therefore, it is possible that the current direction of support may change, says Valery Matskevich, Belarusian politician, public figure and a member of the Coordinating Council.

This is the 4th publication is the commentary series “WHAT’S GOING ON IN BELARUS? OBSERVATIONS FROM THE INSIDER.”, in which, at the invitation of the Centre for East European Policy Studies (CEEPS), for publication on Tvnet.lv and Rus.tvnet.lv, VALERY MATSKEVICH, Belarusian politician, public figure and a member of the Coordinating Council tells about the current situation in Belarus.

“It must be understood that Lukashenko is in fact dependent on Russia. Russia lacks the means to solve its social problems, but has enough resources to support all the world’s tyrants and to cancel the debts. I am convinced that Russia is already tired of paying by money and by its reputation for all the madness going on here in Belarus, ”points out V.Matskevich.

“Russia is in a very delicate situation. On the one hand, with the support of Lukashenko, it wants to gain time to support, actually create and grow pro-Russian forces in Belarus, whose influence is currently negligible. Because Lukashenko has kept this sphere as his field, monopolizing bilateral relations with Russia for more than a quarter of a century. On the other hand, with Lukashenko’s support, Russia is increasingly pushing Belarusian society away from itself. Consequently, the creation of such pro-Russian forces remains less and less strategic – their influence on the Belarusian agenda may be insignificant, ”explains the representative of the Coordinating Council.

“But now it is necessary to carefully rearrange, in accordance with the new reality, as more and more information about the real situation in Belarus is leaking and the eyes of Russian citizens are beginning to open. In support of Lukashenko, Putin’s rating is falling not only among Belarusian citizens, but also among his own electorate. And that is a completely different level of damage. Consequently, the damage from cooperating with the toxic Lukashenko outweighs the concerns about the possibilities of cooperation with the democratic power of an independent Belarus, which would be civilized, predictable and consistent, ”explains Matskevich.

“It is also important to understand that Russia is gradually coming to terms with Lukashenko’s inability to stabilize the situation in the country. Russia supported Lukashenko for fear of losing Belarus. But now it is increasingly heard that they may permanently lose Belarus by continuing to support Lukashenko, ” Matskevich emphasizes.

Find out more about the situation in Belarus, as well as Russian-Belarusian relations in the latest video commentary prepared by Valery Matskevich.

1st VIDEO available here.

2nd VIDEO available here.

3rd VIDEO available here.

More info about the commentary series – here.