Translated material
Preserve commonality
Sergei Lavrov was engaged in a specific case in Minsk
The visit to Minsk of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (pictured) yesterday again confirmed the presence of serious problems in Belarusian-Russian relations. The minister never met with President Alexander Lukashenko. This became the subject of heated debate in the media of both countries, which offered different explanations for this fact. According to one version, the Belarusian president refused negotiations with Lavrov. Another explanation is that it was Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who gave the Foreign Minister “clear instructions” not to meet with Alexander Lukashenko.According to official information, nothing extraordinary happened. Sergei Lavrov himself, talking to journalists in Minsk, said: “We came to Minsk to do a specific thing - to hold a meeting of the board (of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries - Ed. )... There was no talk about other events.” Following the results of the panel, the parties made routine statements. In particular, Mr. Lavrov said that during the discussion of the upcoming summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, it became clear that Belarus and Russia “on all issues of the OSCE summit not just a consensus, but a common initiative.” The Russian minister also promised that Moscow will not interfere with the rapprochement of Minsk with Brussels: “We support all formats of cooperation between Belarus and Europe. We are absolutely far from the desire to restrain anyone in anything; this is not our position.”
The head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Sergei Martynov confirmed: the fact that Sergei Lavrov did not meet with Alexander Lukashenko is not an emergency, but was dictated by the purpose of the visit. “When we meet in a collegial format, we discuss issues submitted to the collegium. When we meet in the format of a visit, we discuss all other issues,” Martynov noted.
Yesterday, the heads of the two countries' Foreign Ministries took part in the opening of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Minsk. At the solemn ceremony, Sergei Lavrov said: “Our peoples are united by common traditions, spirituality, and centuries-old roots. Belarusians and Russians think, live, and dream the same. All this unites us into a single humanitarian space.” Sergei Martynov noted that “the center will certainly help preserve the community of peoples, which dates back centuries; will not allow us to lose the heritage and understanding of the commonality of the Belarusian and Russian peoples.”
However, many Belarusian political scientists are confident that the heated discussion of the visit of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry demonstrated the presence of contradictions between the allies. “It is unclear whether a meeting between Alexander Lukashenko and Sergei Lavrov was planned. But the information campaign that has unfolded around the discussion of this issue shows that the conflict continues. One match is enough for it to flare up in full force,” Belarusian independent political scientist Alexander Klaskovsky told Vremya Novostei.
It is curious that on the eve of Sergei Lavrov’s arrival in Minsk, President Alexander Lukashenko announced his desire to meet with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Speaking about the creation of a regional grouping of troops of the two countries, the Belarusian leader noted: “I will not sign any documents in working order. There is a supreme state council (of the union state, it includes the presidents of the two countries - Ed. ). When he gets together, we will consider this plan... It will be right.” In other words, Lukashenko actually refused to make a decision on cooperation in the military sphere, which is important for Russia, without a personal meeting with Dmitry Medvedev.
According to Alexander Klaskovsky, in this way the Belarusian leader wants to insure himself for the future. The expert reminded VN that Moscow had previously hinted at the possibility of non-recognition of the results of the Belarusian presidential elections scheduled for December 19, and such a development of events would be extremely undesirable for Minsk. “Lukashenko’s statements can be seen as a warning: if you do not recognize the elections, you will be left without military cover in the western direction. In addition, these words are an attempt to strengthen Minsk’s position on the eve of difficult negotiations on the terms of gas and oil supplies next year,” the expert said. He recalled that “this is the traditional pattern for the development of conflicts between Minsk and Moscow: as soon as Russia begins to reproach Belarus with energy subsidies, Minsk reminds that it provides free services to Moscow in the military sphere.”