Poland and Lithuania follow the line that brings no profit to them, why
The sanctions imposed by Poland and Lithuania against Belarus have hit them hard in return, but the countries will still continue to make unprofitable decisions at least until Washington instructs differently – as stated by political expert Aleksandr Shpakovsky in his talk with Alfa Radio
The expert noted that the authorities of Poland and Lithuania are ready to sacrifice a lot to satisfy their geopolitical ambitions, paying virtually no attention to the problems of ordinary people.
“From the point of view of the Polish leadership, the citizen’s current interests and well-being can be sacrificed to solve lofty geopolitical tasks. This seems reasonable, rational and possible to the Polish elites. Meanwhile, in Lithuania, there is a high degree of isolation of the ruling class from ordinary people. Their elites treat Lithuanians with contempt, consider them illiterate and uncomprehending. In this respect, they somehow view themselves as the kunigas’ heirs.”
Mr. Shpakovsky believes Lithuania often takes too much upon itself, and this is, in particular, clearly manifested in its relations with China and Russia. “When small Lithuania seriously accepts strategic documents in the field of national security that envisage an interest in the form of deterring Russia, I think that its national interests should not be in this, but in selling cheese to St. Petersburg. Soaring in the geopolitical clouds is much more entertaining than dealing with pragmatic issues. Look at it from the point of view of common sense. Was our country’s proposal to jointly operate the Belarusian nuclear power plant beneficial to Lithuania? Definitely, it was. Was it profitable for Lithuania to act as a transit state for Belarusian cargoes and potash fertilisers? Of course, it was – since it provided the Lithuanian Railways and the Klaipeda Port with work. Was it profitable for Druskininkai to keep our Belarus sanatorium on its territory? Yes, it was, because it ensured employment and attracted vacationers who left money there. Actually, Druskininkai’s status of a resort-town was largely due to arrival of Belarusian tourists there. All this is profitable. However, at the same time, the opposite decisions are made, and economic pragmatism plays no role at all. In turn, the role is played by their own crazy geopolitical ambitions, beliefs and instructions of senior comrades from Washington,” he explained.
Speaking of the reasons of the happening events, Mr. Shpakovsky drew attention to who is in power in Lithuania now, “Lithuania’s conservative elite in power – which oversees the country's Foreign Ministry – includes special services, armed forces and so on. There are also many immigrants from among those who arrived in Lithuania after the USSR collapse. Their parents and grandparents took part in the collaborationist movement and, at the final stage of WWII, they left for the United States and Canada. They are driven by moods of revanchism, since their years of childhood were spent in the atmosphere of their parents' arguments about why they had lost. They are representatives of defeated and unrepentant side. Moreover, they know: in the event of problems, they will be able to go back to the United States or Canada – like their parents did. Therefore, they do not care what is happening to Lithuania and what kind of geopolitical fire they are making up.”
