Political Scientist On Links Between Minsk And Tehran: Lukashenka Is Waiting For Signal From Kremlin

• 18.10.2023, 13:13

The Belarusian regime has no autonomy anymore.

First vice president of Iran Mohammad Mokhber arrived yesterday on a one-day visit to Minsk, where he met with Lukashenka, Prime Minister Raman Halavchenka and Natallia Kachanava.

What could they be talking about? Charter97.org journalists asked Oleh Belokolos, the Chairman of the Board and foreign policy and security expert at the Maidan of Foreign Affairs, former counsel of the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada and Kenya, about this.

– It should be noted that Russia has been taking inventory of relations with those countries that it sees as its allies. The meeting within the CIS in Bishkek was dedicated to this. I think that during this meeting in Kyrgyzstan, issues related to other countries friendly to the Russian Federation were also discussed. Perhaps for this reason there was a need for a meeting within the Tehran-Minsk format.

– It is noteworthy that Mohammad Mokhber called on Lukashenka to condemn the “Zionist genocide in Gaza,” but neither the dictator’s press service nor BelTA mentioned this part of their conversation. Why did Lukashenka’s regime decide to keep silent about this?

– It’s no secret that the foreign policy of Belarus has become Russian and not really Belarusian. Minsk is a “backup dancer” for Moscow. Apparently, Lukashenka is waiting for some signals from the Kremlin. They will act after instructions.

So to get back to the CIS summit, Russia tried to put forward its old idea about the “need for coordination of foreign policy”. It's better to assess Minsk's actions in this context. If they receive instructions from Moscow, they will act that way. Lukashenka has no autonomy anymore.

– The US closely monitors Iran’s contacts with other countries. Could Lukashenka have problems of a new level if he gets too close to Tehran?

– Lukashenka has had problems for a long time. Everyone understands perfectly well who he is and what he is doing. If we are talking about details, some investigations, companies and individuals who are not yet on the restrictive lists, the United States will find them.