Bogdan Yaremenko: Situation For Lukashenka Will Turn In Very Negative Way

The West is beginning to realize that the dictator is a military threat.

Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the association "For Democratic Belarus" have come up with the initiative to urgently recognize the territory of Belarus as temporarily occupied by Russia.

Verkhovna Rada deputy from the ruling party "Servant of the People," Bogdan Yaremenko, told Charter97.org about the significance of this initiative:

- This is a political assessment of what is happening, an attempt to find a common language with the neighbouring people, to give a political signal that we have no claims to the Belarusian people at the political level. We understand that the participation of Belarus in the war is not the will of the Belarusian people, it is a consequence of the internal and external occupation. This statement is, of course, about the external Russian occupation, but Belarus is also internally occupied.

- Is it advisable to keep the Ukrainian ambassador in Minsk under these conditions?

- My position is - no. Any sense of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Belarus under Lukashenka has long dried up, in the situation of war there isn't any. But in this case my personal position differs from the position of the state.

- Will Kyiv treat Lukashenka any differently when nuclear weapons appear in the territory of Belarus? Or will it change nothing for it?

- The attitude to Lukashenka is not only formed completely and finally, it will not be reconsidered and it will be fixed in the political-legal documents, for example - in the statement of the Supreme Rada on non-recognizing the legitimacy of the elections. There are other political assessments in the form of both formal written and verbal statements by the president, parliament and other senior officials. Therefore the presence of diplomatic relations is not in any way a characteristic of the attitude to Lukashenka. These are unrelated things, at least in the Ukrainian perception.

The presence of diplomatic relations, from the point of view of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is necessary for some pragmatic purposes, in particular - to deter Belarus, as the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes, from going to war with ground troops and to support the interests of Ukrainian citizens there.

I do not know whether the order of your questions is related to the fact that you are linking these issues or it is a coincidence. If it is not a coincidence, then I will answer it this way. If by chance the questions about diplomatic relations and attitude to Lukashenka follow each other, then it is a closed question for Kyiv. The presence of Russian nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus would considerably complicate the relations between our countries. But the attitude to Lukashenka cannot be worsened, nor can it be improved. It has been formed and will remain so, it is non-recognition of his legitimacy, there can be nothing else.

- In general, how do you see the situation with the Russian nuclear weapons in the territory of Belarus? Is it a bluff or can Putin really use them?

- We have to proceed from the fact that it is bound to happen, it is Lukashenka's insistent and long-standing request. It seems to me that with the solution of this issue Lukashenka is linking the issue of Russia's support in the war against Ukraine, which is very important and necessary for Russia. We see preparations on the ground, i.e. training of crews, preparation of carriers and ground infrastructure for storage and use of nuclear weapons. We see the militaristic blackmailing nature of Russia's foreign policy. We understand Lukashenka's interest in this. So far all indications suggest that this is going to happen.

- Today Lukashenka poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to the countries of the West. Is there an understanding in the democratic world that this problem must be solved and how it can be solved?

- Lukashenka's regime has been a threat to surrounding countries for a long time even without nuclear weapons. It simply transfers lots of politico-military issues to a completely different plane.

We have seen how the migration card is played by Lukashenka. This is also a threat to the countries of Europe, it is a violation of human rights, which has a massive systematic nature. Therefore, the threats from the Lukashenka regime are multi-dimensional, broad and long-standing.

There is no understanding in the West of what to do with the Lukashenka regime. The development of these positions is taking place now. And, probably, in the morbid imagination of Aliaksandr, the presence of nuclear weapons significantly improves his chances to turn the situation in his favour somehow. Taking into account that the war has sharpened the interest and accelerated the process of thinking about the role of Belarus, the topic of nuclear weapons will turn the situation in a very negative way for Lukashenka. He will be perceived as a real military threat with all the ensuing consequences.

If you like this article, you can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL 97 1160 2202 0000 0002 1671 1123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail [email protected]