Lukashenko closes borders with Poland and Lithuania 

The crisis of power in Belarus that began after the presidential election on 9 August pushes the unpredictable Lukashenko to new desperate measures. Minsk announced the closure of the borders with Poland and Lithuania, as well as the strengthening of border control with Ukraine, writes Alex Ivanov, Moscow correspondent. 

According to Lukashenko, this decision is "forced". Official Minsk claims that they had to "keep half of the country’s army on the Western border, taking it off the streets". The president of the Republic also appealed to the people of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine to stop their politicians and prevent a hot war.

It is noteworthy that, according to eyewitnesses' information, the checkpoints on the borders with Lithuania and Poland are working normally. Apparently, Lukashenko is again trying to present relations with the neighbors in a different light, as if the country is under threat from the West. And such statements are made to demonstrate the determination of the regime in Belarus to protect its legitimacy. In addition, Minsk always emphasizes that it works in the interests of the Union state, providing it with reliable rear lines on the Western borders.

In Minsk the authorities really talk about the concentration of NATO forces in Poland and even possibility of transferring additional units of the Alliance from Germany. In Lithuania, this logic of behavior was interpreted very critically, emphasizing that Minsk “is looking for a threat to the country where there is none”.

Meanwhile, it is Warsaw and Vilnius that have recently emerged as the most harsh critics of Lukashenko. And Lithuania has already become a favorite place for the residence of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition.

Minsk is seriously convinced that the protests against Lukashenko, which have been going on for the second month, are sponsored from abroad, including Lithuania and Poland.

As it is know, Moscow supports the election of Lukashenko as President. The culmination was a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi on September 14.

After months of intense rhetoric the meeting of the leaders of Russia and Belarus finally took place. For Minsk, this meeting was especially important given the crisis situation in the country caused by the results of the scandalous presidential election on August 9 and the subsequent unprecedented protests of the Belarus society demanding political reforms.

It is obvious that for Lukashenko, whose time in power is inevitably decreasing, negotiations with the Russian President have become a chance to maintain his position as the leader of the nation.

The Kremlin's comments on the results of the 4-hour intensive and difficult meeting were, as always, terse and streamlined. Analysts can only wonder whether Putin will support Lukashenko. Apparently, he will support him. But at the same time, he will approve Lukashenko's intention to launch the process of changing the country's Constitution. According to the Russian President himself, the reform of the Constitution and the power structure in Belarus should become a purely internal matter of the country and take place "without any external interference".

There is no information yet on how the process of creating the Union state will move forward. Although there are already rumors about a common currency, synchronization of legislative systems and other processes of convergence. At the same time, in the ranks of the opposition, in particular, according to Tikhanovskaya, it is clear that Lukashenko's opponents reject any attempts to integrate the two countries.

The issue of oil and gas prices remains open for Belarus, which has recently become a major irritant in bilateral relations. For Minsk, this is a matter of survival and obtaining significant foreign currency earnings from the production of petroleum products. For Moscow , this is a question of filling the budget and a certain lever of pressure on the Belarusian authorities.

"We are for Belarusians to figure out the situation themselves without outside help. We believe that it is timely and appropriate to start working on changing the Belarusian Constitution”, say in Moscow. Russia remains committed to all agreements within the framework of the CSTO and the Union state, and “we will fulfill all our obligations. We will give Belarus a $ 1.5 billion loan and continue cooperation in the defense sector. Belarus will be the first country to receive our coronavirus vaccine”, that’s how the comments from Moscow sounded.

Meanwhile the OSCE is determined to launch its own investigation into the recent presidential election irregularities. The EU has already expressed its opinion declining to recognize the legitimacy of Lukashenko. Tikhanovskaya, who presents herself as a sole leader of the Belarus opposition, is shuttling between different European destinations, trying to attract as much support as possible for alternative Belarus forces, who are seeking to deprive Lukashenko of this power.

The country is really at the crossroads. But it is also obvious that there is too much external attention around the public processes in Belarus.

The opinions expressed in the above article are those of the author alone, and do not reflect any opinions on the part of EU Reporter.

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