Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Monday that the United States is attempting to distance Minsk from its ally Russia through intensified dialogue with Belarus, but he expressed doubt the effort will succeed.
“This is how the United States is trying to separate Belarus from Russia, and I think we will have the opportunity to see whether such a policy yields real results. In the coming months or perhaps years, we will see whether it is really possible to isolate [Alexander] Lukashenko from [Vladimir] Putin,” Nausėda told the LRT TV programme Dienos Tema (Topic of the Day).
“I am absolutely convinced that this is impossible because the ties of dependence are so close and numerous that even if he wanted to, Lukashenko could not break away from Putin. His country is entirely dependent on Russia financially and economically. Still, it is worth trying,” he added.
Nausėda’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump appointed John Coale as his special envoy for Belarus. Trump said the move was intended to help negotiate the release of additional political prisoners.
Nausėda said the humanitarian goals pursued by Washington are “very important and commendable”, but added that the Belarusian government is insincere in its gestures of leniency.
“The problem is that while some prisoners are released, hundreds of new ones are thrown into jail right away. […] These exchanges can go on endlessly, and the outcome will be very difficult to measure,” he said.
Following US–Belarus talks, more than 60 prisoners, including six Lithuanian citizens, were released from Belarusian prisons in June and September.
Afterward, the United States lifted sanctions on the Belarusian airline Belavia.
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