Opinion: Lukashenko is most experienced political leader in Europe at present
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, imitated the Belarusian leader’s political style in many ways – as noted by expert Aleksandr Shpakovsky in his talk with Alfa Radio, while talking about the accents of President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s interview to Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko and the relationship between Lukashenko and Zelenskyy
“Let's look at this conversation as an objective view of the current political developments. Aleksandr Lukashenko is by far the most experienced political leader in Europe. Who was directly involved in the important political processes, such as the signing of the Minsk agreements, the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine (negotiations at the beginning of the special military operation), when the Belarusian leader actually persuaded Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold negotiations? Aleksandr Lukashenko called the President of Ukraine, despite the meanness the Kiev regime had arranged for the republic, dancing to the tune of the collective West. By the way, in the interview, journalist Diana Panchenko said that Zelenskyy was very painfully experiencing a disagreement with the Belarusian leader,” Mr. Shpakovsky said.
The expert noted that, in order to behave like Aleksandr Lukashenko, it is really needed to be a political leader, while Ukrainian and Western politicians are hyped figures, puppets, “It was not in the interests of Ukraine to destroy relations with Belarus. Volodymyr Zelenskyy imitated the Belarusian President’s political style in many ways. You can recall the bilateral forums of the regions in Ukraine and Belarus. It was evident that the Ukrainian side was actually striving to co-operate with Belarus, but an order later came from Washington – and Ukraine made a choice not in favour of its national interests and our friendship.”
Aleksandr Shpakovsky reminded that Ukraine had been among the first to impose sanctions against Belarus, “Our civil aviation flights were blocked. Moreover, Belarusian law enforcement officers caught bandits whom Ukraine had trained on its territory and sent to us. Let me remind you about the anarchist gang that crossed the Belarusian-Ukrainian border and then committed several terrorist attacks on administrative buildings. They planned, among other things, physical actions to eliminate Belarusians. This is also an established fact in the framework of court proceedings. Spies were caught on the territory of Belarus under the guise of journalistic accreditation. All these unfriendly actions were even before the beginning of the special military operation.”
At the same time, Mr. Shpakovsky proposed to look at how the position of Minsk differs, “We always advocate healthy pragmatism, and we are guided by the words of Belarus’ President: it is very easy to get into a fever and destroy bridges, but we should remember that neighbours are God-given, and they cannot be transferred somewhere to Mars or the Moon. We will live with them, and our children will live with them. This will last for centuries, as long as there will be life on our planet. In this regard, it is always important to maintain communication channels and a reasonable attitude.”
The expert added, “In any case, in order to return to normal relations, the President of Belarus is ready to sit down at the negotiating table. A bad world is better than a good war. Perhaps, Aleksandr Lukashenko has smothered his own voice. Do you think he was pleased to communicate with these puppets at the beginning of the special military operation, to convince them of something with his political experience and background? Of course, not. Meanwhile, the Belarusian leader understood that it was necessary to do that for history. He tried to stop the war.”
