RUSSIALINK: “Putin Doesn’t Want to Intervene in Belarus. That’s an Opportunity for the West.” – Moscow Times/ Anna Arutunyan

“It’s certainly not too soon for Moscow and Brussels to learn from past mistakes.”

“… Now, the time has come, largely through Lukashenko’s own undoing, but also, in part, thanks to a perfect storm of the pandemic, a stagnating economy, and Moscow’s growing weariness with subsidizing Belarus and playing cat and mouse with an ally turned frenemy. Lukashenko may well succeed in suppressing these protests through demonstrative terror, but even if he wins this gamble, he will at best buy a couple of years of hollow, illegitimate rule before his administration finally implodes. These elections weren’t just rigged – all autocrats do that. The results appear to have been flipped in his favor to mask an irredeemable defeat. …

The truth is, neither Moscow nor Brussels are invested in Lukashenko, and neither want another Euromaidan.

This may be a chance for the EU to reach out to Russia to help broker dialogue in Belarus[, mediation] – together. This would, of course, have to happen behind the scenes

…”

Click here for: “Putin Doesn’t Want to Intervene in Belarus. That’s an Opportunity for the West. It’s certainly not too soon for Moscow and Brussels to learn from past mistakes.” – Moscow Times/ Anna Arutunyan

[Lukashenko image is file photo from another occasion]