From Friday, Belarus will introduce visa-free travel for citizens of 35 European countries. Although none of the politicians of these countries asked the Belarusian authorities for a visa. And they asked for something completely different, which the Belarusian authorities, it seems, are not going to fulfill. It seems that Minsk believes that it has decided everything, and you can no longer bother with the normalization of relations with its neighbors.
Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksym Ryzhenkov said that the introduction of the visa-free regime is a demonstration of the openness of the Belarusian authorities and their readiness for dialogue. It actually looks like a cheap PR move for internal use. A way to show Belarusian citizens that the Belarusian authorities are not at all to blame for their problems at the border. Because the visa-free regime will not help solve problems at the border. Neighbors want something completely different from the Belarusian authorities.
On Thursday, the press secretary of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pawlo Wronski, said that Poland expects real steps from the Belarusian authorities. "The first is the end of the hybrid attack and the deportation of migrants to the border. The second issue is to conduct an investigation into the murder of a Polish soldier and extradite the perpetrator of this act." He also added that the release of political prisoners, including Polish journalist Andrzej Pochobut, could also contribute to the normalization of relations.
But the Belarusian authorities are going to continue to pretend that they do not understand what they want from them.
"They have purely political demands on us, which we do not consider justified. And if they do need them, then you need to talk, and not use the language of ultimatums to achieve something. We will never do that," Ryzhenkov said.
When, during a visit to China, Polish President Andrzej Duda hinted that Chinese exports to the EU could suffer because of migrants, the Belarusian authorities panicked. Because it was scary to cover up Chinese exports to the authorities. They were particularly impressed by the Polish allusion to the vulnerability of the railway route: when Poland introduced for two days increased inspection of goods going by rail, the number of migrants wishing to enter Poland via Belarus immediately fell tenfold.
But now official Minsk again pretends that it is confident in itself. Minister Ryzhenkov stated that Poland "will never act to the detriment of its interests." And the secret of this confidence seems to be revealed simply.
"I want to say that blackmail regarding the transit of Chinese goods did not leave their words at all," Ryzhenkov said. - During my trip, we handed over a number of documents and explained in great detail the nature of things at the border, which was not only accepted with understanding, it was accepted by our colleagues. And at that point, the interest disappeared in principle, to any intrigues on this part."
So the return of normal transport was perceived by the Lukashians as a weakness, and they decided that they had gotten away with it. Practice shows that in relations with Lukashenka's regime, which is adopting Putin's experience everywhere, nothing will be achieved through talks. And closed transit can achieve a lot.
Comments