Russian attempt to annex Belarus could lead to war – Łukašenka
October 25, Pozirk. Some forces in Russia would like to annex Belarus, but “this is impossible,” Alaksandar Łukašenka has told Russia’s Izvestiya.
“I am even afraid to say that this is [would lead to] war,” the Belarusian ruler said. “You see our relations with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. A lot of negotiations, personal and other contacts. We’ve never had this issue raised before. Well, in Russia, some people in high circles have a problem with it.”
“We can build relations that will be closer and stronger than in a unitary state, and no one will have grudges against anyone. We need it,” Łukašenka noted.
Putin had actually raised the question of Belarus annexation in 2002. Putin, Russia’s prime minister at the time, rejected the Belarusian ruler’s request for economic concessions and invited Belarus to join Russia as six provinces instead.
“We need to understand what we want and what our partners want. Flies are separate and cutlets are separate,” Putin said.
“Even [Vladimir] Lenin and [Josef] Stalin did not think of breaking up Belarus into pieces to incorporate it in the RSFSR or USSR,” Łukašenka said after that meeting.
He was so angry that he described Russian leaders as “brazen people without conscience,” recalled Mariusz Maszkiewicz, a former Polish ambassador who met with the Belarusian strongman shortly after that unsuccessful visit to Moscow.
Belarus and Russia established a union state in the 1990s. Integration intensified in 2020 after Moscow backed Łukašenka during the postelection political crisis in Belarus and in 2022, when the Belarusian leader supported Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Belarusian-Russian cooperation in political, defense and economic sectors has intensified amid Western sanctions targeting both countries.
- SecurityIllegal migration at Belarusian-Lithuanian border jumpsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyLithuania reports decrease in residence permit holders from BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Elections, PoliticsKremlin: everyone in Russia will support Łukašenka in electionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, SecurityInterior minister announces drills ahead of presidential pollThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- SecurityWarsaw says no migrants wounded at Polish-Belarusian border this yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Elections, PoliticsEU says Belarus lacks conditions to hold free electionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, Politics
- PoliticsPortuguese MPs vote against humanitarian visasThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals intensify ahead of presidential campaignThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, Politics
- Politics, SocietyViasna reports 1,221 cases of political repression in Q3The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka tells Pezeshkian he is indebted to IranThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja to attend Nordic Council sessionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyŁukašenka admits settlement problems with VietnamThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyBelarusian State University downgraded in British rankingThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, PoliticsCollection of ballot-access signatures to begin on November 7The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, PoliticsFirst-round election spending jumps by $1mThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka claims BRICS can end Western global dominanceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- EconomyBelarus signs civil aviation documents with Jordan, ZimbabweThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUkrainian envoy pessimistic about Łukašenka's rule in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, Politics
- Economy, SocietyNominal average pay down 1.2 percent in SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLithuania imprisons Belarusian over embassy arson attackThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityŁukašenka denies he gave Russia permission to use Belarus for attack on Ukraine in 2022The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: Ukrainians convicted of espionageThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsKaleśnikava's sister: family welcomes willingness to consider pardonThe material is available only to POZIRK+