Expert explains reasons of France’s concern about Belarusian draft Constitution

French President Emmanuel Macron, following talks with Russia’s Head of State, Vladimir Putin, said he was concerned about Belarus’ draft Constitution put to a referendum. Aleksei Avdonin, an analyst with the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research, has shared his views with Alfa Radio on the reasons for this French message.

“Can you imagine the level of importance of discussing the proposed additions and changes! Most likely, a meeting was held in Paris, and its participants read out all these changes – highlighted in green – to make Macron get prepared. I think he also read them attentively. It is important that French have gone so deep into studying the draft of our Constitution," Mr. Avdonin said.

The analyst added, “Most likely, Macron’s message conveyed not the position of France but the whole collective West – addressing not Belarus but Moscow and Beijing: they [France, the West] would not like our country to be a venue for deployment of Russian or Chinese troops, and nuclear weapons.”

Pondering over the reasons for French being worried with the change of our status, Mr. Avdonin noted, “They [France, the West] have been implementing a key concept of creating a buffer zone between the collective West and Russia for the past thirty years. In line with their plan, we were supposed to act in the status of a neutral state; neutrality entails impossibility to deploy foreign military contingents. As a result, this territory can actually be easily conquered at any moment, occupied by NATO troops if the conflict with Russia is escalated. The presence of a large military contingent on the territory of Belarus, including the holding of exercises, means that it is impossible to hold a blitzkrieg here. Of course, just imagine, they [France, the West] have been investing money for thirty years to maintain our neutrality but this policy might be destroyed in a flash. Therefore, Macron expressed concern.”