Expert: Belarus will have to turn to the East

13.08.2020, Moscow.

Hardline stance of the EU countries will force Belarus to take a course on integration with Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the director of the Europe Center for Information and Public Cooperation Eduard Popov stated, as RIA Novosti informed on August 13.

Popov expressed the opinion that the protests in Belarus will soon cease, as there are no strong opposition centers, their support from abroad is complicated, and there is no splitting of elites in the country. The expert pointed out that the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will have to govern the people, some of whom consider him to be not fully legitimate, and against the background of a complex situation on the international stage.

“Against the background of borderline legitimacy on the part of the people, Lukashenko has a complex situation on the international stag: Western countries have taken an exclusively negative position, especially the European Union,” said Popov. According to the expert, the West’s hardline stance is likely to come as a surprise to Lukashenko, and this situation will affect his behavior.

“Now Belarus will have to lean towards the eastern vector of integration,” concluded the expert. He recalled that Russia had always helped Belarus, even after it began to build closer relations with the West. At the same time, Popov believes that today the situation has become more complicated due to the detention of 33 Russian citizens, and “relations between countries may become more pragmatic.”

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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