Yeah, courting the Russians seemed like a great idea when it got money from Russia. Give up a little autonomy and let the Russians in a little more, and in return, get cash. But Belarus could always end the game any time they wanted. Right?
Maybe not, eh?
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says Russia's annexation of Crimea is a "bad precedent," but acknowledged that the region is now a "de facto" part of Russia.
"When it comes to recognizing or not recognizing [the annexation of Crimea], Crimea is not an independent state unlike Ossetia or Abkhazia," Lukashenko told reporters in Minsk when asked on March 23 about his refusal to endorse the Russian annexation of the peninsula. "Crimea today is a part of Russian territory. You can recognize or not recognize that, but this will change absolutely nothing."
And then he went an made a fatal error:
While indirectly criticizing Moscow for annexing Crimea, Lukashenka said the Ukrainians have brought the crisis on themselves by allowing years of corrupt leadership.
He said Ukrainian authorities "provided the reason, or at the very least, the pretext" for the current situation.
Lukashenka is kidding, right?
Lukashenko’s corruption and agenda to undermine the desire of the Belarusian people for true democracy extend far beyond the aforementioned human rights violations. Having been an ardent supporter of relations with Russia and even having voted against the independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union, Lukashenko remains one of the worst violators of human rights.
The man just signed his term limits pretext. Perhaps he and Yanukovich can be room mates in Moscow.
