Political analyst: Łukašenka wants to gain West’s respect by brandishing nuclear stick

March 31, BPN. Alaksandr Łukašenka is trying to present nuclear weapons as something within his reach in an attempt to fuel uncertainty in the West, political analyst Alaksandr Frydman has told BPN, commenting on Łukašenka’s annual state of the union address.

Frydman said the address had two important elements. First, the way Łukašenka spoke about the upcoming deployment of Russian nuclear arms in Belarus: “He basically presents Belarus as a nuclear power and expects to be in charge of nuclear weapons. Of course, this is not going to happen, but the goal of these remarks is to make the West nervous, focused on the situation in Belarus, and respectful of Łukašenka.” He said the address had already caused a reaction in Western countries.

The nuclear rhetoric was coordinated with Russia, and Łukašenka hopes to brandish that nuclear “stick,” he added, but nothing will come of it.

Second, the way the Belarusian ruler presented Russian narratives, with his ideology leaning towards the “Russian world.” This has been a trend for quite some time, and “the turn to the East announced by Łukašenka” is nothing new, Frydman said.

“He is increasingly active in repeating this rhetoric. It concerns the attitude to the Russian language and culture, the perception of the war in Ukraine, and the accusations against Ukrainians. He accused Ukrainians of genocide on the anniversary of [the liberation] of Bucha [from Russian troops], which is blasphemy,” Frydman noted.

Besides, Łukašenka is “ready to copy Russian measures like the law banning the propaganda of homosexuality,” he said

“He hasn’t touched on this topic for a long time, because it is very sensitive for the West. He didn’t want to provoke the West. But now he’s back to the rhetoric he had in the early noughties, and it’s gotten even worse. This shows us that he is sliding into the Russian world,” the analyst added.