Opposition group calls for dismantling of Russia-led blocs

June 8, BPN. The Union State of Russia and Belarus is an instrument of Russia’s imperial policy, says a report by analysts from the Warsaw-based National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM).

“It is critical to create conditions for dragging Belarus away from the Russian center of influence and gravity, which means making the Union State project as toxic as possible,” the report stressed.

The NAM called for the dismantling of Russian-led blocs, including the Union State, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The Belarusian opposition should focus on Belarusian EU and NATO aspirations, starting from joining the Lublin Triangle, an alliance of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine promoting regional cooperation, the analysts said. The move may prompt the Union State’s dissolution and put an end to Russia’s imperial ambitions.

Belarus will remain a direct threat to its neighbors as long as Alaksandr Łukašenka remains in power and keeps the country under the influence of Russia and its military alliances, the analysts said, emphasizing the threat emanating from the Union State’s military doctrine adopted in 2021.

The doctrine approved joint military drills in early 2022, which served as a cover-up for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and laid the foundation for Alaksandr Łukašenka’s complicity in Russia’s war on Ukraine and surrendering the country’s sovereignty to Russia, the analysts noted.

The military doctrine, among other things, reaffirms Russia’s right to use its nuclear weapons. Łukašenka takes advantage of the clause to deploy Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, which he considers a guarantee of his personal security, the report noted. He has reverted to nuclear blackmail of both Ukraine and NATO countries, hoping to blunt Ukraine’s momentum.