Lukashenko defies Putin, leans into China relationship, analyst says
Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko (Photo: Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERS)
Recent events show that self-proclaimed Belarusian president
Alexander Lukashenko has refused Moscow’s requests to deepen
Belarus’s involvement in the Russo–Ukrainian war, Vadym Denysenko, head analyst
at the Dilova Stolytsya business newspaper, told NV Radio on June 30.
"An unprecedented situation has occurred: for the first time in 26 years of friendly relations between Lukashenko and [Russian dictator] Vladimir Putin, we did not see statements or press releases, and we did not even see a single photograph of a meeting between Putin and Lukashenko,” Denysenko commented on Lukashenko’s recent visit to Russia.
“That can only mean one thing: the sides could not agree on anything.”
Denysenko added that Lukashenko’s subsequent unannounced
trip to Beijing and his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping also indicate he
declined to make concessions to Putin. He said the Beijing meeting was arranged
"urgently," which is normally difficult, and suggested China wants
stable relations between Belarus and its neighbors to avoid transit problems
for Chinese goods bound for the European Union.
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