Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro stated the need to involve France and Russia in resolving the situation in Belarus.
With such an appeal, he made on the eve of the visit of the French President Emmanuel Macron to the republic.
The visit to Vilnius is the first trip of a French leader to the Baltic region since 2001.
“I would like to call on European countries, especially France, to act as mediators for establishing a peaceful dialogue between the Minsk authorities and civil society, with the participation of Russia.
We have already made efforts of this kind, but we would like other countries to join us, ”said Nauseda.
It is reported that on September 29 in Lithuania, Macron will meet with the former presidential candidate of Belarus Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
According to the Lithuanian leader, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is not yet ready for a dialogue with the opposition, but the situation may change.
Currently, according to Nauseda, the European Union should impose sanctions against the official Minsk.
The President of Lithuania expressed hope that this issue will be positively resolved at the next EU summit.
The meeting of the leaders of the European Union was supposed to take place on September 24-25, but due to the danger of politicians becoming infected with the coronavirus, it was postponed to October 1-2.
Earlier, the foreign ministers of the EU member states were unable to agree on a sanctions package for Belarus.
As the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, explained, some states believe that Lukashenka should be included in the black list, while others are against it.
At the same time, the EU is in solidarity that it does not recognize the Belarusian leader as a legitimate president.
In early September, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that Germany, France and Italy opposed the imposition of sanctions against Lukashenka.
The Baltic republics and Poland, on the contrary, insist that the restrictions directly affect the Belarusian leader.
"Zone of influence"
Experts recalled that since the beginning of the protests in Belarus, Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia, has taken a rather tough stance towards Lukashenka.
On August 31, the Baltic republics imposed sanctions against Lukashenka and 29 other high-ranking politicians in the country.
At the end of September, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia expanded the sanctions list.
Restrictions were adopted in relation to 101 persons who were allegedly connected with “violence in Belarus”.
However, the names from the new blacklist have not yet been announced.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at the EU Summit in Brussels
RIA News
© Alexey Vitvitsky
Currently, Vilnius insists on increasing political pressure on official Minsk.
In mid-September, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius called the package of restrictive measures being developed in the EU insufficient.
“Lithuania, along with Poland, turned into a haven for the Belarusian opposition long before the current events.
All kinds of forums and conferences were held there, various NGOs and opposition media are based there.
These countries have historically viewed Belarus as a zone of their influence.
And that is why the Lukashenka regime does not suit them, ”Sergei Margulis, a RANEPA teacher, explained in an interview with RT.
At the same time, as Margulis noted, the Baltic states and Poland do not have enough resources to put pressure on official Minsk.
In this regard, Lithuania counts on support from Paris, which, as in the situation with the "Maidan" in Ukraine, could hypothetically initiate negotiations with the leadership of Belarus.
However, in light of the recent mutual recriminations that Macron and Lukashenka exchanged, this prospect is very dim, says Margulis.
On September 26, in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, the French leader said that amid ongoing protests, the Belarusian president should voluntarily leave the post of head of state, since he allegedly did not win the August 9 elections.
“What is happening in Belarus is a crisis of power, moreover, an authoritarian power that cannot accept the logic of democracy and is held in place by force.
It is clear that Lukashenka must leave, ”Macron said.
On September 27, BelTA agency published Lukashenka's response to the French leader's appeal.
The Belarusian president noted that, following "his own logic", Macron himself should have resigned back in 2018, when large-scale rallies of "yellow vests" began on the streets of Paris.
“Years go by,“ vests ”are still on the streets, Mr. Macron, surprisingly, is also still in office, and France has become a country where mass protests have become commonplace ... In addition to the“ yellow vests, ”recurring problems are also worth mentioning France with the BLM movement and Muslim protests in Marseille and Lyon, ”Lukashenka said.
The Belarusian president recommended Macron to focus on the country's internal problems and offered his mediation services in negotiations between the protesters and the central leadership of France "for the peaceful transfer of power to any of the above groups."
According to Sergei Margulis, Macron's attack should be regarded as interference in the internal affairs of Belarus.
According to the expert, the statement that the French president allowed himself buried the prospect of any "mediation" with the participation of Paris.
“Macron's statement is nothing more than interference in the internal affairs of Belarus.
And after such statements, the prospect of acting as a mediator is extremely dubious.
And on the whole, France is unable to exert a serious influence on Minsk, ”Margulis stressed.
"Legalization of the opposition"
Political analysts believe that in the current situation, the only state that can have a significant impact on Lukashenka is Russia.
It is for this reason that Nauseda, in an interview with Le Figaro, spoke about the importance of Moscow's participation in resolving the situation in Belarus.
However, the Russian leadership recognizes Lukashenko as a legitimate president and criticizes the West for attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus.
As Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted earlier, the European Union, “hiding behind imaginary care,” is trying to decide for the inhabitants of Belarus how to live.
“We call on the European Union to reconsider this course, which leads to the erosion of the international legal foundation of the world order, and in the case of Belarus, prevents normalization in the country,” Zakharova said.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting in Sochi on September 14, 2020
RIA News
Margulis sees no reason for Moscow to begin revising its policy in the Belarusian direction.
The expert believes that the situation in Belarus is largely similar to the confrontation in the center of Kiev in 2013-2014, when the Russian Federation was also called upon to influence Viktor Yanukovych in exchange for a dialogue between the West and street leaders.
“Here Lithuania and other countries act in relation to Belarus in about the same way as in Ukraine during the protests.
From their point of view, Moscow should directly influence Lukashenka, and they should influence the opposition.
This is an attempt to come to an agreement on the shore, ”says Margulis.
In an interview with RT, Igor Shishkin, an expert from the Institute of CIS Countries, said that Lithuania expects to achieve the overthrow of Lukashenko.
One of the scenarios that Vilnius intends to implement is for Lukashenka to start negotiations with the opposition coordination council.
“It is critically important for the West to launch negotiations between Lukashenka and the so-called civil society.
Thus, the opposition will be legalized.
It will be perceived as the second center of power in the republic.
Hence the calls for Russia's involvement as an intermediary.
This is nothing more than an insidious move, but I think that in Minsk and Moscow they understand everything perfectly, ”Shishkin summed up.