“I think that if no sanctions are imposed on Russia in the nearest future, due to the Kremlin actions regarding Belarus, the prospect of war is practically inevitable”, Belarusian oppositionist and activist (Solidarity Movement "Together"), told.
"What is happening now is nothing new. After all, the military cooperation of Alexander Lukashenka with Moscow, took place long before 2022. For Moscow imperialists, moving their troops several hundred kilometers to the West, it is an important goal. And this is happening step by step, also because the reaction of the West to this process is unfortunately inadequate. And for these reasons, Putin's plans with regard to Belarus are being implemented, so I would say, unfortunately with great success", commented oppositionist.
“For Russia, Belarus is a straight path to Europe. And this is the answer why for so many years in Belarus such and no other processes have taken place in recent years. And this interest of Russia to subjugate Belarus explains also why such repressions are taking place in Belarus today”, stressed the activist.
More in the interview.
PolskieRadio24.pl: Another strategic exercise was organized in Belarus only a couple of months after the autumn Zapad maneuvers. The current exercises gathered tens of thousands of soldiers. At the beginning of February NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg spoke of 30,000 Russian soldiers on the territory of Belarus.
According to experts, their presence means, firstly, Russian encirclement of Ukraine, and secondly, it is Russian military force along the long stretch of NATO's eastern border with Poland and Lithuania, Latvia.
And, of course, this is a signal of subordinating the theoretically sovereign state, Belarus, to the interests of Russia, and the sign of increasing Russian dominance over Belarus. This is disturbing. It seems the Kremlin would like to demonstrate that it can do whatever it wants in Belarus. This is one of the main conclusions of what is happening. We do not see any reaction to it.
Viachaslau Siwczyk, Belarusian oppositionist and activist (Solidarity Movement "Together"): Unfortunately, no sanctions have been imposed for what Russia is doing with Belarus.
Hence, Russia has become menacingly arrogant and dangerous in its actions regarding Belarus. As a result, no one is able to say how many Russian troops are actually in Belarus at a given moment and whether all of these troops will be withdrawn and when.
I emphasize once again: the situation in Belarus can only begin to change if sanctions are introduced against Russia for what the Kremlin is doing with Belarus and for the humanitarian catastrophe we see in Belarus. After all, Lukashenka represses and stifles the spirit of opposition of the Belarusian people (…).
All this, unfortunately, is nothing new. After all, military cooperation with Moscow took place long before 2022. For Moscow imperialists, moving their troops several hundred kilometers to the West, it is an important goal. And this is happening slowly, also because the reaction of the West to this process is unfortunately inadequate.
And for these reasons, Putin's plans with regard to Belarus are being implemented, unfortunately, with great success, I would say.
Belarus is therefore more significant in this puzzle than one might think.
As for Ukraine, Ukraine is no longer as defenseless as the Belarusian people.
However, it must be remembered that the repressions and the torment of the Belarusian people give Putin a whole range of terrible possibilities. There may be a provocation on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border at any time.
It is true that the Belarusian forces would not be enough to occupy even one region of Ukraine.
However, the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, who said that the Russians "have been preparing for 20 years" sounded the most dangerous of all what I have heard. From the context, it can be concluded that they were getting ready to wage new wars.
Russia must be stopped. However, if the West proceeds as it has been till now, Moscow will have the impression that its hands are completely untied.
It is clear that the Russians are indeed occupying new grounds, they are intensifying military training, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that they are preparing to be able to launch a military attack at some point.
From the beginning of this reconquista, when Putin came to power 20 years ago, Russia had been all the time preparing for a war.
After all, the Kremlin also fought these wars.
You can mention 2008 - the war in Georgia. In fact, the aggression of Russian imperialism grew in front of our eyes. And no measures were taken to prevent the specter of another war, looming on the horizon.
As I said, during the two world wars, the geographic location of Belarus, which should bring us prosperity and money, was a cause of our great tragedy.
Because for Russia - Belarus is a raod to Europe. And this is the answer why for so many years such and no other processes took place in Belarus. And this Russia’s interest to subjugate Belarus also explains why such repressions in Belarus are taking place today.
Moscow has been trying foe 20 years, as you said, to stifle the spirit of protest and allow Alexander Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin to act without taking into account the will and suffering of the Belarusian people.
Therefore, sanctions are needed against Russia for its actions against Belarus.
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Ed. Agnieszka Marcela Kamńska, PolskieRadio24.pl
