The drama surrounding Lukashenko's visit to Moscow did not subside until the Belarusian leader returned to Minsk after four hours of talks with Putin. Experts and observers wondered what the two presidents would agree on: would the presidents announce the full reunification of Belarus with Russia? But no. Neither in his annual address to the Federal Assembly, nor during his meeting with Lukashenko, did Putin make the extraordinary statements that some hoped for and others feared. And Lukashenko, for his part, did not "give" the Blue-eyed Moscow ruler, as the Belarusian oppositionists used to guess on the coffee grounds.
But the integration of the two countries will continue, which is good.
For many protocols, everything is already agreed;
a few remained inconsistent, but that's not a bad thing either.
Belarus with its closest Russian people goes its own way in some issues and, thus, becomes an experimental platform for a possible future, as has been the custom since Soviet times.
The meeting between Putin and Lukashenko took place immediately after the exposure of the conspiracy of several Belarusian oppositionists with the support of the American special services.
As Putin said in his address to the Federal Assembly, they were going to make an attempt on Lukashenka's life and seize power in the country by violent means.
The conspiracy was thwarted, and the conspirators have already confessed to their criminal designs.
The United States dissociated itself from the conspiracy, as if the assassinations of recalcitrant leaders were not accepted by them.
This column will not be enough to list all the conspiracies that the CIA has wove against the disobedient.
Sometimes they managed to overthrow and kill the legitimate rulers - like Patrice Lumumba in the Congo, Allende in Chile, sometimes - they did not succeed, like Fidel Castro, on whom dozens of assassination attempts were made.
But the evidence for a conspiracy against Lukashenka is overwhelming.
It can be said with certainty that relations between Minsk and Moscow have noticeably improved over the past year.
Although Russian "turbopatriots" honor Lukashenko for his multi-vector and stubbornness, and pro-Western liberals demand to extradite him to Lithuania, Russia treats the behavior of its younger sister with understanding.
And Putin gives a higher rating to the activities of his neighbor, who coped with an attempt at a "color revolution", passed a pandemic, and is building a common defense policy with Russia. Common misfortunes brought the neighbors closer together.
The third seat next to the two presidents remained empty. In December 1991, the leaders of the three union republics - Russia, Belarus and Ukraine - jointly abolished the Soviet Union, but then they parted ways. A liberal republic arose in Russia, state ownership of factories remained in Belarus, and Ukraine was torn apart by its oligarchs and led to a confrontation with Russia. Belarus tried not to quarrel with Ukraine, its closest neighbor. But now, at a meeting with Putin in Moscow, Lukashenko advised Zelensky to learn diplomacy and negotiate with Donbass (even if he doesn't want to be in Minsk, but directly with the leaders of the two people's republics right in Donbass). Putin also replied to Zelenskiy that, they say, he should conduct negotiations on Donbass with the leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk, not with Russia.And if he wants to make peace with Russia, let him come to Moscow. So the positions of Belarus and Russia on Ukraine practically coincided, and this is a great progress.
There will be benefits from the rapprochement between Russia and Belarus, even for people who have never been interested in politics.
Russia has opened its gates for the import of Belarusian sugar, which will sharply reduce its price in stores.
So - let's drink tea with sugar.
If the dietitian allows.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.