Łukašenka, Putin play up their alliance, Cichanoŭskaja says Belarusians do not need it

April 2, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka and Russian President Vladimir Putin have issued upbeat statements today as Minsk and Moscow to mark the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia.
The common educational, informational, cultural space allows every citizen of Belarus and Russia to feel a part “our common Fatherland,” Alaksandar Łukašenka said on the 28th anniversary of a treaty that initiated the integration process.
Minsk and Moscow are “building their future together,” relying on “mutual trust and support,” the Belarusian ruler’s press office said in an official message.
Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja criticized her country’s strong ties with Russia, noting that her country does not need unions, which cause deaths and the erosion of national identity.
“The Łukašenka regime has isolated Belarus from the world – clinging to Moscow as its last lifeline. Every step toward Putin is a step toward erasing our sovereignty,” she stressed on X.
The Union State treaty between Belarus and Russia entered into force in January 2000 after ratification by the parliaments of the two countries. The deal is of unlimited duration.
In 2018, Russia launched an upgrade of the Union State to bind the two countries together.
In November 2021, Minsk and Moscow signed 28 Union State programs focusing on macroeconomic, industrial and agricultural policies, tax and customs harmonization and a common energy market.
Last year, Łukašenka and Putin approved a security deal that consolidated Belarus as Russia’s protectorate. Moscow is committed to defend the Union State with “all available forces and means,” including Russian tactical nuclear weapons ostensibly stationed in Belarus.
More on the subject:
Belarus-Russia Unity Day: a celebration of dependence, not national pride
- PoliticsBelarus wants to strengthen ties with brotherly Cuba, Łukašenka saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security, SocietyExercise for territorial troops in full swing near border with Ukraine, PolandThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyPačobut, Amnesty International ask Polish PM to ensure legal status for exiled BelarusiansThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityLatvia records daily attempts at irregular entry from Belarus for four consecutive monthsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityOpposition defense chief dismisses minister’s claim that Belarus is not building fortifications at Ukrainian borderThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsWoman gets seven years in prison for “extremism”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyCourts convicting more teenagers of “extremism”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security
- SecurityFive Lithuanians facing prison over Belarusian-smuggled cigarettesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyForeign investment in fixed assets reported down 32 percent in five yearsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Security, SocietyRecruitment officials visiting farms to see who should be punished with service at Ukrainian borderThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyDefense ministry sets up commission to probe deadly truck crashThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełstat: pre-tax monthly pay up 3.3 percent in JuneThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLatvia to boost border defenses amid surge in irregular crossings via BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsInterior ministry brands one Ukrainian, 11 others as “extremists”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- SocietyBelarus triples waste recycling over decade, operator saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsTrials, pressure on students and exilesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyTwo soldiers killed, 14 injured after truck overturns in Mahiloŭ regionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsKGB adds four exiled activists, seven others to list of terroristsThe material is available only to POZIRK+



