President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that the scenario of a color revolution is being implemented in relation to his country. He said this during a visit to a military training ground near Grodno.

"All clear. As we expected, everything is going according to the plan of color revolutions with the agitation of the internal political situation in the country, ”he said.

He also noted that external forces are trying to influence the situation in Belarus.

“The originality and peculiarity of the situation is that an external factor is involved, which is not always the case. Usually they spin inside, overthrow the current government. But since the authorities are in place, they are firmly resisting (and not only resisting, but also controlling the situation), they have brought in an external factor, ”Lukashenka stressed.

"We can handle it ourselves"

A little later, at a rally of his supporters in Grodno, he said that the activists, who make up the core of the instigators of the riots, had come from abroad.

“They've arrived, waving flags, buzzing, driving you into riots,” Lukashenka said. - The core of the instigators are not Grodno residents, not Belarusians. They are sitting there, near Warsaw, near Vilnius. "  

The head of state also announced an increase in the activity of the troops of the North Atlantic Alliance on the borders of the republic. According to him, this is done in order to disperse the forces of the Belarusian military and law enforcement officers, distract them from the internal situation and strain on the external border.

“You see that they are already dragging an“ alternative president ”here, they are doing it in earnest, because Western states are pouring in on funding and support. Military support is evident - the movement of NATO troops to the borders. They are all moving towards dragging the supposedly new president here. He appeals to Western states, in this case NATO, to protect the population. They bring in troops - and you can put an end to Belarus, ”the Belarusian leader said.

Alexander Lukashenko instructed the military to take the toughest measures "to protect territorial integrity." At the same time, he urged to pay special attention to the movement of NATO troops on the territory of Poland and Lithuania.

“We have to track the direction of their movement and their intentions. At the moment we see all these plans. This does not bother us especially, but some facts, especially in the Grodno direction, make us think. Therefore, we must definitely take measures and not hesitate to withdraw our armed forces and equipment to the directions of their movement, ”Lukashenka said.

He also recalled that the border of Belarus is also the border of the Union State and the CSTO.

“Both the leadership of our country and the leadership of the CSTO members have taken a firm position: we will not give up Belarus to humiliation. I am grateful to the heads of those states that support Belarus today. But I am sure that we will manage on our own, ”he stressed.

After the rally, in a conversation with RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov, Lukashenko said that the activities of the West in Belarus are directed, among other things, against Russia.

“We are being hounded here in order to rush to Russia later. This is a springboard. And we must destroy it, ”he said.

Western interests

Let us remind you that after the August 9 presidential elections in Belarus, mass protests began. The demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the results of the vote, according to the results of which, according to official data, Alexander Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote, while his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - 10.12%.  

EU countries supported the protesters and refused to recognize Lukashenka's victory. This was announced on August 19 by the head of the European Council Charles Michel after the emergency summit.

In addition, Brussels announced the preparation of a package of sanctions against Belarusian officials, who are believed in Europe to be guilty of violence against protesters and electoral fraud.

On the same day, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the EU intends to allocate € 53 million to help the people of Belarus.

  • Ursula von der Leyen
  • Reuters
  • © Stephanie Lecocq / Pool

According to her, € 2 million of this amount will go to help victims of political repression, another € 1 million will be directed to support "civil society and independent media", and the remaining € 50 million is intended to help in the fight against coronavirus, support social services and business.

How this money will get to Belarus bypassing its official authorities, von der Leyen did not specify, but stressed that Brussels intends to support the Belarusians who stand for fundamental freedoms and democracy.

In turn, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki proposed to create channels for financing Belarusian media.

“Belarus needs media pluralism. We will create permanent funding mechanisms for independent media, ”he said.

At the same time, Poland has been sponsoring the Belsat TV channel for a long time, which is focused on the Belarusian territory.

In addition, as experts remind, it is in Poland that the editorial office of the telegram channel NEXTA is located, with the help of which the actions of the protesters are coordinated. Funding sources for this resource remain unknown.

Lithuania also actively supports the protesters, where the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, is currently in contact with the authorities of this Baltic state.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron demonstrated a more moderate position in relation to the current events in Belarus. He believes that Belarus should independently organize a dialogue between the current government, the opposition and civil society. At the same time, the French leader noted that the EU is ready to mediate in this process.

At the same time, Macron called on Europe to coordinate its actions with Russia and conduct a constant dialogue with her on this issue. He stressed that the European Union would not like a repetition of the Ukrainian scenario in Belarus.

"Proactive stance on non-interference"

Analysts say the ongoing protests in Belarus clearly show the active participation of external players.

“The attempted coup d'etat that we are witnessing in Belarus has a rather pronounced external outline. Naturally, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and the USA are taking an active part in this process. There is active interference in the internal affairs of Belarus, "said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in an interview with RT.

According to him, preparations for this have been going on for a long time.

“This situation has been preparing for a long time, telegram channels have been created for it in Poland, the content of which concerns the coup d'etat. Now an active information campaign has begun with the participation of official representatives of these countries, ”Shapovalov said.

A similar point of view is shared by Sergei Margulis, a teacher at the RANEPA Presidential Academy.

“The Telegram channel NEXTA and a number of other foreign resources, for example, the Polish channel Belsat, have been operating on the territory of Belarus for a long time, and Minsk was not worried about this before. Naturally, they do not act in the interests of the Belarusian state, their work can be considered a certain element of interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

  • Protesters in Belarus
  • Reuters
  • © Vasily Fedosenko

Among the key external players interested in destabilizing the situation in Belarus, Margulis singled out Poland and Lithuania.

“First of all, Poland, which has long been talking about the need to revive the project of Józef Piłsudski“ Poland from sea to sea ”. Of course, Warsaw sees both Minsk and Kiev in the orbit of its influence. Also, due to historical reasons, Lithuania has a certain influence on the situation in Belarus, ”the analyst noted.

At the same time, experts note that, compared with the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, this time the EU decided to take a more cautious position.

“If the EU's intervention in Ukraine was clear and active, now European leaders have learned a lesson from that situation and understand that there are much more negative and costly for Europe here than mythical advantages,” Shapovalov said.

Commenting on Lukashenka's words about NATO's activity, the expert did not rule out that the alliance could indeed intensify its activities near the borders of Belarus for demonstration purposes.

“Military force is used as a demonstration of possible interference. And direct military intervention in theory is also possible: there are examples of how the United States and its allies intervened in situations in certain countries, for example, in Libya, ”Shapovalov said.

At the same time, he agreed with Lukashenka's words that the West is trying to use the protests in Belarus against the Russian Federation.

“Belarus is part of the Union State, is part of the CSTO and the EAEU. If its territory is in one form or another under the control of NATO, then the danger for Russia will significantly increase. Those color technologies that are currently undergoing a certain run-in on the territory of Belarus, if successful, can be applied here as well, ”the analyst says.

At the same time, Russia made it clear that in the event of an external threat, the CSTO will provide support to Belarus, analysts remind. According to them, the West took note of this signal.

“An active position on non-interference in the internal affairs of Belarus was outlined by Russia by drawing a red line. After that, the EU took an identical position on non-interference in the internal affairs of the state, ”Shapovalov concluded.