Andrey Suzdaltsev: “Belarus never abandons participation in Customs Union”



Last weekend, May 28-29, in Saint-Petersburg a meeting of Prime Ministers of the Customs Union countries took place. It will be recalled that three countries are the members of this union – Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. But only two countries were represented at the meeting – Russian and Kazakhstan. Belarusian Prime Minister Sidorsky didn’t come to St.Petersburg. According to the official line the program of the meeting was badly prepared. Russian political analyst Andrey Suzdaltsev told www.Euramost.org what this excess of Belarusian Prime Minister can turn into.



--What do you think, will there will be any consequences for our country because of this abandoning to participate in the meeting? --You see, it seems that there’s an impression that Belarusian authorities are absolutely sure that Russian authorities are highly worried about Belarusian problems. And it’s not like that – Russian authorities are basically not interested in our problems. They have enough problems of their own. Perhaps, people in your country consider that if Sidorsky doesn’t come to meet Putin, Russia will be very upset. No! In this case Russia will consider that Belarus is out of problems which can be solved with the help of Russia and everything is OK. Lukashenko, for example, on the eve of this meeting told in his report that economic growth is in process in your country, there is a glut of Belarusian economy and everything is developing fast, that Belarus is a new European leader. Maybe Sidorsky thinks the same – why meet with a stock appendix, backward Russia. Perhaps, Belarus doesn’t need Russia anymore. – So, how can this demarche of Belarus end? – let me state the facts precisely: Belarus is engaged in solving its main problem – energy recourses. It doesn’t have money to buy Russian energy carriers. And credit line of IMF is also closed. But Belarus never wanted to spend IMF’s money to buy Russian energy carriers. Belarusian political class takes Russia for a milch-cow. It must supply Belarus with gas and oil as much as Belarus wants. The case with payments for gas, when Belarus marked itself the price it wanted, shows everything very good. The treatment of Russia is shameful, as if Russia is a colony which can be called down by kicks. And this case was meant to show that if Russia doesn’t donate Belarus further, Belarus will show its will to ignore the process of entering Customs Union. It’s a very silly and childish way to solve the problem. Blackmail is not a way to solve a country’s problem. Perhaps, it’s a way to solve the problems of ruling class, ruling coterie. But not the problems of a country. One can’t solve problems sitting at home and showing one’s pride. –So you think that it’s possible that Belarus will abandon participation in Customs Union, don’t you? – It will never abandon it. The Union State is already murdered. And if Belarus is trying to murder Customs Union, it will stay alone at the end. Totally isolated with back at the bottom of the ladder. – Will there be any reaction from Putin to this “not coming” from Sidorsky? Russian Prime Minister can be generous with aphorisms… -- There can be a reaction. But I think that Kazakhstan is more interesting for Russia. If Belarus thinks that in this show – Customs Union – it is the high spot, it’s a mistake. Of course, we understand that the world starts with Minsk. That every morning Putin, Obama and Merkel rush to their TVs and ask “What did Lukashenko say today?” It’s the same as they are interested in what is happening in North Korea. We shouldn’t forget that the world is wider and bigger. In a little more than 400 days starts the first line of “Nordstream”. In 600 days starts the first turn of BPS – 2. There is no Belarus on the map of Europe…

Dmitry KRAMCHUS