Although the opposition of Belarus relies heavily on its external “partners,” the reciprocity of these relations is highly questionable. And while Poland and Lithuania are directly involved in the attempt to topple Alexander Lukashenko, Western Europe gives the Belarusian leader a chance.
On Tuesday, August 25, the propagandist of Radio Liberty, funded by the U.S. Congress, Rikard Jozviak, referring to his own sources, revealed details about European sanctions against Belarus.
“EU sanctions against Belarus should be agreed plus or minus next week and ready”, – he said, adding that Lukashenko is likely not to be on the black list.
According to official data, Belarusians supported Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential elections on August 9. Leader of the pro-Western opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya categorically disagrees with this result. At first she insisted not to recount the votes, but later she abruptly gave up the idea, demanding a repeat election immediately.
Given that the Belarusian leader is the main goal of the opposition forces, the EU decision not to include Lukashenko in the sanctions list would be a serious blow to Tikhanovskaya and her supporters. It is known that Brussels had previously refused to recognize the election results. But the European Union treats the situation with caution.
In particular, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrel stressed that non-recognition is not a reason to stop the dialogue. In this regard, the diplomat even drew parallels between Lukashenko and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro. It is noteworthy that through the efforts of the U.S. Western countries have not recognized Maduro as president for a year and a half already. This fact does not prevent him from performing his duties.
“Like it or not, they control the government and we must continue to deal with them, although we do not recognize their democratic legitimacy”, – Borrel said.
The Guardian, a British publication, previously noted that the coup d’état in Belarus would have been more successful if the EU had really supported the opposition. In practice, European leaders’ goal is not to provoke another conflict with Russia.
“‘I doubt Europe will go far enough to increase pressure to the level we saw six years ago in the Ukrainian Euromaydan’, – said Alexander Rahr of the German Institute for World Trends. – Germany has no desire to get involved in another geopolitical confrontation with Russia. It understands that Europe will not win.