Martsau, “BDG”: “Putin must be trying to avoid President Lukashenka”
Putin and Lukashenka have not met each other this year. However, there were 28 meetings during the first four years of Putin’s presidency – once in two months.
Information about a meeting of Putin and Lukashenka planned for August 22 in Sochi appeared on the web site of the information agency “PRIME-TASS” last week. According to “PRIME-TASS”, a source in the diplomatic circles of Russia informed about it. However, the Russian President’s press service has not confirmed the information yet.
Meanwhile, the Presidents have not been able to meet since last year. And they are not likely to.
That is what the editor-in-chief of “BDG” Pyotr Martsau thinks:
“To tell you the truth, I do not understand where the information about a possible meeting came from. I do not understand why it should take place either”.
Lukashenka also sounds resolute. During his visit to the office of “Sovetskaya Belorussiya” Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed: “The last visit of the Belarusian Prime Minister to Russia was humiliating! I told them not to go there anymore. I was also implied to go to the Kremlin and kneel there. I will not go there and will not kneel”.
Some mass media explained this discrepancy between the words of Lukashenka and the information of “PRIME-TASS” by the fact that Moscow decided to take revenge on the Belarusian President and to show him that he would not do anything without the Kremlin in spite of all his eloquent announcements. He would run or even crawl to Moscow on his knees regardless of his pride.
The tendency of meetings of the leaders of the countries is very clear. The Presidents of Belarus and Russia met 8 times during the first year of Putin’s presidency while there were only 4 meetings in 2004. They haven’t met at all this year. Let us remind you that the Presidents met each other “face-to-face” last time on December 15, 2006.
Who is to blame for such coldness in the relations between the leaders of the states? Who is avoiding whom – is it Putin avoiding Lukashenka or vice versa?
Pyotr Martsau comments on it:
“It must be Putin trying to avoid Lukashenka in this case. However, I do not think that Lukashenka is trying organize a meeting either. He has not been doing it lately.
Probably the situation is different now. Maybe he would like to organize such a meeting but I do not think there is something that the Presidents have to discuss. At any rate, they have nothing to discuss in summer”.
Can the relations between the two leaders of the states be considered as a litmus paper indicating at anything that is going on between the two countries? Pyotr Martsau continues:
“Of course, personal meeting of state leaders influence the relations between countries. There are a lot of historical examples. If we look at the relations between President Putin and President Lukashenka we can see that they are not very good.
The reason for it is clear. The project of the union state followed by both Presidents seems to be starting to fail. It has not been fulfilled yet and its stages have not been fulfilled either – neither “Beltransgaz” not the single currency etc.
There is no such a purpose as to find out who is to blame for it but it is evident that the elations are not very good. It is connected with the fact that the obligations of both Presidents have not been performed”.
Interestingly, a situation similar to this one was registered in 2004. Uladzimir Putin met Alyaksandr Lukashenka on August 23, 2004 in Sochi. “PRIME-TASS” and other mass media predicted this date for the Presidents’ meeting this year.
Interestingly, the problems discussed at that meeting are the same as the problems on the agenda now. “We do not have any problems now”, - claimed Putin after the meeting in 2004. “The only remaining problem is the problem of energy”.
“If Putin wants us to pay this money we will take it from Chernobyl liquidators, medicine and those who spent many days in trenches, - you see, they are very rich. Can’t we collect the 200 million USD? We will do it and they will stop embarrassing us”, - said Lukashenka in 2004.
So this is who pays for gas. Let us remind you that the Law “On social and state benefits…” that will cancel all benefits for veterans and Chernobyl liquidators will come into power starting from next year.
Photo by www.kp.belkp.by
Information about a meeting of Putin and Lukashenka planned for August 22 in Sochi appeared on the web site of the information agency “PRIME-TASS” last week. According to “PRIME-TASS”, a source in the diplomatic circles of Russia informed about it. However, the Russian President’s press service has not confirmed the information yet.
Meanwhile, the Presidents have not been able to meet since last year. And they are not likely to.
That is what the editor-in-chief of “BDG” Pyotr Martsau thinks:
“To tell you the truth, I do not understand where the information about a possible meeting came from. I do not understand why it should take place either”.
Lukashenka also sounds resolute. During his visit to the office of “Sovetskaya Belorussiya” Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed: “The last visit of the Belarusian Prime Minister to Russia was humiliating! I told them not to go there anymore. I was also implied to go to the Kremlin and kneel there. I will not go there and will not kneel”.
Some mass media explained this discrepancy between the words of Lukashenka and the information of “PRIME-TASS” by the fact that Moscow decided to take revenge on the Belarusian President and to show him that he would not do anything without the Kremlin in spite of all his eloquent announcements. He would run or even crawl to Moscow on his knees regardless of his pride.
The tendency of meetings of the leaders of the countries is very clear. The Presidents of Belarus and Russia met 8 times during the first year of Putin’s presidency while there were only 4 meetings in 2004. They haven’t met at all this year. Let us remind you that the Presidents met each other “face-to-face” last time on December 15, 2006.
Who is to blame for such coldness in the relations between the leaders of the states? Who is avoiding whom – is it Putin avoiding Lukashenka or vice versa?
Pyotr Martsau comments on it:
“It must be Putin trying to avoid Lukashenka in this case. However, I do not think that Lukashenka is trying organize a meeting either. He has not been doing it lately.
Probably the situation is different now. Maybe he would like to organize such a meeting but I do not think there is something that the Presidents have to discuss. At any rate, they have nothing to discuss in summer”.
Can the relations between the two leaders of the states be considered as a litmus paper indicating at anything that is going on between the two countries? Pyotr Martsau continues:
“Of course, personal meeting of state leaders influence the relations between countries. There are a lot of historical examples. If we look at the relations between President Putin and President Lukashenka we can see that they are not very good.
The reason for it is clear. The project of the union state followed by both Presidents seems to be starting to fail. It has not been fulfilled yet and its stages have not been fulfilled either – neither “Beltransgaz” not the single currency etc.
There is no such a purpose as to find out who is to blame for it but it is evident that the elations are not very good. It is connected with the fact that the obligations of both Presidents have not been performed”.
Interestingly, a situation similar to this one was registered in 2004. Uladzimir Putin met Alyaksandr Lukashenka on August 23, 2004 in Sochi. “PRIME-TASS” and other mass media predicted this date for the Presidents’ meeting this year.
Interestingly, the problems discussed at that meeting are the same as the problems on the agenda now. “We do not have any problems now”, - claimed Putin after the meeting in 2004. “The only remaining problem is the problem of energy”.
“If Putin wants us to pay this money we will take it from Chernobyl liquidators, medicine and those who spent many days in trenches, - you see, they are very rich. Can’t we collect the 200 million USD? We will do it and they will stop embarrassing us”, - said Lukashenka in 2004.
So this is who pays for gas. Let us remind you that the Law “On social and state benefits…” that will cancel all benefits for veterans and Chernobyl liquidators will come into power starting from next year.
Photo by www.kp.belkp.by
