Belarus blackmails Russia (video)
Last week, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko made a speech that further strained the country’s relations with Russia. Lukashenko said his country can ‘get by’ without Russian oil and will not sacrifice its freedom and independence for the sake of that oil. “Clearly, we will get by without Russian oil. It will be very difficult for us," Lukashenko said at a meeting with journalists in Minsk. But freedom and independence "cannot be valued by any amount of money, not any figures," he said. "It is absolutely incompatible, to have independence on one side of the scale and Russian oil on the other. Unfortunately, this is not understood in Russia," he said. That is not the first time that the Belarus president has accused Russia in such a context. Political analyst Alexnader Markarov says Lukashenko’s statements reflect the problems that his country is facing and his speeches are not directly addressed to Russia or the European Economic Union; he simply wants to obtain additional benefits [for him] through blackmail. Against the background of such speeches, even specialists cannot imagine that Belarus might leave the EEU since it depends on Russia both economically and politically. Daniel Ionnisyan, Chairman of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, says, “In this way, Lukashenko is trying to tell Putin to value his country. He [Lukashenko] does not say that they will leave the EEU otherwise, but he demands that Putin appreciate them as he might cause problems otherwise.” Not only Belarus, but also other members of the EEU are very dependent on Russia. However, none of them has protested [Russia] like Belarus.
