Support The Moscow Times!

‘Russia Is a Part of Belarus,’ President Lukashenko Quips

Kremlin.ru

Russia should join its smaller neighbor Belarus rather than forcing Minsk to join Moscow’s orbit, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko quipped Tuesday, days after the latest round of integration talks between the two ex-Soviet allies.

Moscow and Minsk are members of a bilateral “union state” and have in recent months discussed a projet for even deeper ties. The ongoing talks have fueled speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin could retain power as the head of a new supranational body beyond 2024, when his current term ends.

“The simplest option that Russia and Belarus will accept in terms of a union state: You join Belarus,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russia’s Ekho Moskvy radio station. 

“Why are some of you inviting us to join Russia? Why aren’t you considering this [other] possibility?” he asked. “Take a listen: Russia is a part of Belarus.” 

Lukashenko, who has relied on Russian loans and cheap energy during his 25-year rule over Belarus, floated a similar idea this spring. 

Russia, an economy 29 times the size of Belarus, began to scale back energy subsidies and loans to its smaller neighbor last year. Putin last week conditioned further gas discounts to Belarus on progress with the “union state” project.

In Tuesday’s interview, Lukashenko warned that a forceful attempt to make Belarus a part of Russia could trigger a war with the West. Belarus has been uneasy over the prospects of integrating further with Russia after Moscow seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. 

In comments on Wednesday, the Kremlin said it did not view Lukashenko’s contentious words as hostile toward Russia.

“Some rough edges are inevitable. But that doesn’t spoil the overall background,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a daily briefing as quoted by RIA Novosti.

“We’ve done a titanic job in agreeing an entire package of roadmaps on advancing integration and strengthening the Union State,” the state-run news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

A senior member of Lukashenko’s government has said that Belarus and Russia plan to resolve their remaining differences over gas, oil and tax issues this week. Putin and Lukashenko will then sign the integration package at an as-yet unknown date, Belarus’ first deputy prime minister Dmitry Krutoy was quoted as saying.

The sides have postponed discussions of deeper political integration until the next stage of talks, Russia’s RBC news website cited two unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations as saying Wednesday. 

In his comments to Ekho Moskvy, Lukashenko denied that he and Putin addressed forming a “supranational” body (which Russia and Belarus call “item 31” in their integration roadmap) during recent talks.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more