{"id":98410,"date":"2024-07-31T16:18:08","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T13:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"lukasenka-putin-talks-at-valaam-give-rise-to-conspiracy-theories","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin at Valaam\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Kremlin's website)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian President Vladimir Putin “on all issues” during his trip to Russia\u2019s Karelia between July 25 and 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine might be a topic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks ago \u0141uka\u0161enka ordered the withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian border, claiming that tension had eased. The move came under fire from Russian pro-war bloggers with some critics accusing the Belarusian ruler of betrayal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The troop movements must have been coordinated with Moscow. Ukraine is generally relaxed about small deployments as long as \u0141uka\u0161enka does not have enough troops to attack Ukraine. And he obviously has no desire to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Russia also lacks reserves to build a strike group in Belarus, as in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, on July 13, having ordered to withdraw troops from the southern border, \u0141uka\u0161enka said he intended to discuss Ukraine with Putin. He might have already made some plans for the Karelia trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremlin worried by Minsk\u2019s overtures to China?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some observers speculated that Putin worries about \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s overtures to China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beijing is concerned about the migrant crisis at the Belarusian-Polish border, which jeopardizes Chinese goods transit, while Moscow is interested in continuing the hybrid warfare against the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most likely, the Kremlin really enjoys unsettling Europe with illegal immigrants traveling through Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Putin’s Russia is heavily dependent on China. Therefore, Moscow is unlikely to go as far as to prompt Warsaw to suspend rail transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland reported a sharp decrease in attempts by Asian and African migrants to illegally cross the border from Belarus in the last couple of weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migrant flow changes in the coming weeks may enable experts to make more accurate assumptions about the Belarusian ruler\u2019s degree of autonomy on the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migration is unlikely to stop completely, but Minsk is unlikely to bring it to critical levels again. Warsaw is bluffing by threatening to sever the railroad link completely. Poland imports goods from China too. Besides, other EU countries are also interested in preserving this route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visa-free travel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Moscow was angered by a visa-free travel program expansion by Minsk for residents of 35 European countries, observers speculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is true that the Kremlin is interested in Belarus’ isolation from the West. On the other hand, Belarus has had a visa-free program for neighboring EU countries – Poland, Lithuania and Latvia – for several years, and Moscow has not had any objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unlikely that something will change fundamentally. Neighbors usually travel to Belarus to buy cheap goods. However, tourists or businesspeople in France, Italy and Germany are likely to avoid travel to Belarus, especially after a Minsk court sentenced German citizen Rico Krieger to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally, Putin and \u0141uka\u0161enka might have discussed their position in bargaining with Berlin over Krieger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the Belarusian ruler seems willing to engage with the West. He has toned down his rhetoric and approved the visa-free travel expansion and the release of 18 political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk is hardly crossing any red lines from the Kremlin’s point of view with those half-hearted steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka has very little room for maneuver. He cannot end his indirect complicity in the Russian war against Ukraine or release all political prisoners. He toes Moscow\u2019s line as the West generally distrusts him after the disputed election of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oil, energy, market access<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 that he had discussed payments for Russian oil with Putin. According to the Belarusian ruler, Putin was angered by Rosneft\u2019s demand of advance payments for supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin is clearly dragging its feet on common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products. Moscow prefers to keep its partner in limbo and negotiate short-term deals. In the end, Minsk always manages to extract concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka also noted the opportunity to make money fast by supplying goods to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Russians do allocate funds for this purpose. It’s only necessary to take a reasonable approach to it and cash in,” he said in an apparent reference to a possible new Russian loan of 105 billion rubles for import substitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: \u0141uka\u0161enka says his meeting with Putin was about oil prices<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian President Vladimir Putin “on all issues” during his trip to Russia\u2019s Karelia between July 25 and 27. Ukraine might be a topic Two weeks ago \u0141uka\u0161enka ordered the withdrawal of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":97938,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-98410","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\"},\"headline\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-31T13:18:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\"},\"wordCount\":720,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\",\"name\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-31T13:18:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories | Pozirk","description":"The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories | Pozirk","og_description":"The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/"},"headline":"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories","datePublished":"2024-07-31T13:18:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/"},"wordCount":720,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/","name":"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-31T13:18:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00","description":"The lack of public communications gives rise to speculations. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said on July 29 in Minsk that he had found common ground with Russian","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lukashenko_putin_kreml_valaam_1128x752.jpg","width":1128,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/98410\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u0141uka\u0161enka-Putin talks at Valaam give rise to conspiracy theories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/98410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=98410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}