The attempted coup d’état in Belarus has provoked yet another dividing line in the long-suffering European Union.
This was told by Oleksandr Rahr, senior researcher at the German Institute of World Trends, in his commentary to the Ukraina.ru publication.
According to him, two positions in the European discussions on Belarus were visible to the naked eye. The first position was more rigid. It even suggested naming the leader of the pro-Western Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya “president in exile. At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko was demanded to be blacklisted with all the ensuing consequences. Such a position was held by Eastern European EU countries, such as Poland or Lithuania. Western Europe was against such a dangerous adventure.
“A tough approach was rejected, although a soft European position is also not called a soft one”, – said the expert.
He called it an important decision to abandon the anti-Belarusian sanctions, as they would have hit the ordinary people, allegedly sought by the EU to protect. But the punitive measures would have no effect on Lukashenko himself. The President understands that he hasn’t seen anything in the West for a long time. It is possible that that is why he refused to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In this regard, Rahr recalled how Western leaders met with Viktor Yanukovych and threatened on the eve of his overthrow.
One could assume that Lukashenko was in isolation, but this is not the case, continues the expert. He still has the opportunity to cooperate with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.
“But the European Union has realized that it does not have the necessary resources to put the same pressure on Belarus as it used to be on Ukraine. However, Western leaders will not come to Minsk, urging people to build barricades, as it was with Ukraine”, – says Rahr.