“As if I could disagree”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in a backstage conversation discussed the state of bilateral relations, security, military cooperation and other current issues, in particular the progress of the process integration within the Union State. Their meeting took place at Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow.
It is difficult to judge the purpose of Lukashenko’s upcoming visit to Moscow, as most of the meeting was closed, noted experts interviewed by Russia’s media service. But the bottom line, they say, is that the worst-case scenarios envisioned at the summit did not materialize.
The background of the political rendezvous is clearly illustrated by the exchange of greetings between statesmen. In response to Putin’s standard gratitude for the visit, Lukashenka said, “As if I couldn’t agree.”
Willy-nilly, this highlights Minsk’s degree of dependence on Moscow, analysts say.
The Russian president in Novo-Ogaryovo, among others, also admitted watching Lukashenko’s press conference, which he gave before his visit to Russia. “It would be better if they didn’t look: they were upset, probably,” commented the nominal president of Belarus.
All in all, Putin, of course, has nothing to be ashamed of. At a press conference, Lukashenko confirmed that he was ready to provide the territory of the country as a springboard for a possible offensive of the Russian army against Ukraine and in general justified Moscow’s aggressive actions of all possible ways. But the way he did it, observers estimate, caused both laughter and tears.
Here are some excerpts from his speech quoted in the media: “…Now it’s euphoria: “the aggressor” and so on. Seems fair. And so on. Now it’s so… You say “invasion.” I don’t think it’s an invasion. It’s not an invasion. The Ukrainian authorities themselves provoked this operation…”
Vladimir Putin in Novo-Ogaryovo told his opponent that he shared his positions and approaches.
“There is a kind of mysticism in the meetings between Putin and Lukashenko” Fears that Moscow and Minsk, for example, could announce Belarus’ entry into the war against Ukraine have not been confirmed, has said Yaroslav Romanchuk, director of the Mises Research Center, in an interview with media. According to him, if Putin and Lukashenko did not take such a step earlier, today it is all the more problematic to do so.
“Therefore, I don’t think it will lead to something serious, like the invasion of the Belarusian army into the territory of Ukraine,” he added. At least it’s unlikely. It is quite obvious that the Russian troops will be defeated at the front, Moscow is losing the information war, and the whole Western world is consolidating in terms of helping Ukraine, recognizing the earlier underestimation of the degree of aggressiveness of the Kremlin. But Lukashenko will continue to please, while at the same time trying to use his connections with Russian hawks in the person of officials and oligarchs, who can somehow neutralize Putin’s pressure. What’s left for him to do?”
Moreover, Lukashenko imitated in Novo-Ogaryovo that he was covering “the rear of the Kremlin” on the western borders in the confrontation with NATO, Yaroslav Romanchuk pointed out:
“So he offers his machine tools, his equipment, his food, his clothes – everything that, from his point of view, is a contribution to the common struggle against the West. But it is difficult to understand the logic and the necessity of personal meetings between politicians. Here we must also take into account Putin’s inadequacy, which has already become a commonplace in international debates… meetings between Putin and Lukashenko exude a kind of mysticism, intertwined with their distorted image of reality.
Nevertheless, Lukashenka is ready to play with the head of the Kremlin in everything, while trying to move away from the funnel in which he has already dragged Russia, summed up the expert from the Mises Research Center.
“The Kremlin’s strategic objective is to subjugate Belarus as much as possible”
In turn, the director of the Institute “Political Sphere” Andrei Kazakevich explained the recent frequent meetings between Putin and Lukashenko by war, which creates many points of common discussion.
“It’s Western sanctions, the foreign policy agenda, where and how to react together, military cooperation, etc.,” the media source said. – By the way, Lukashenko has already commented on the results of the visit, from which it appears that maneuvers of the armed forces of both countries can be activated on the territory of Belarus.
Also, probably, the possibility of greater Belarusian involvement in the conflict with Ukraine was discussed in Novo-Ogaryovo, which Moscow would clearly want, Andrei Kazakevich suggested:
“Although Minsk is already doing its best in this area. And there is simply no other country that would seek to help Russia in the CIS space … ”
The Kremlin’s strategic goal is to subjugate Belarus as much as possible, said the director of the “Political Sphere” Institute. Hence, according to him, Moscow’s desire to increase Minsk’s dependence through various integration initiatives in various fields:
“The discussion about roadmaps and their implementation has been going on for a long time. But now this topic has become even more relevant in the context of Western sanctions. Russia has become the only source of credit money for Minsk, the importance of the Russian market has increased immeasurably…”
In general, neighboring heads of state have many topics for discussion, given the difficult situation in which the two countries find themselves, concluded Andrei Kazakevich.