The tens of thousands Russian soldiers developed in Belarus for joint military exercises, which the Westerners are afraid that they will serve as a pretext for attacking Ukraineare also a threat to Belarus’ independence, according to exiled Belarussian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Belarus must now fight for its “independence” and against “dictatorship”, Tichanovskaya, who is considered by Westerners to be the real winner of the August 2020 presidential election against the outgoing head of state, said in an interview with AFP. Alexander Lukashenko.
He also said he was “terrified” that Sunday’s referendum on amendments to the Constitution in Belarus would allow Alexander Lukashenko to approve the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in the former Soviet republic, which borders Poland and the North.
The Belarusian president, who suppressed the popular protest movement against his re-election in 2020 with an iron fist, wants to be “grateful” to the Kremlin, which backed him heavily at the time, the opposition leader said.
“We do not want to be the annex of another country,” she said during a visit to Paris. “We see the threat of a slow occupation of our country.”
“Lukashenko was backed by the Kremlin and now he wants to show his faith in it (…) giving ground for military exercises,” added Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who estimates the strength of the Russian army in her country of almost 30,000 men.
But that is not in Belarus’s interest, Tikhanovskaya said. “People do not want these troops on our soil, they do not want the country to be an invader of our Ukrainian brothers,” he said.
The military exercises were due to end on February 20, but Belarus said it would continue indefinitely.
Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is just 150 kilometers from the border with Belarus.
Tikhanovskaya urged the United States and Europe to call off the February 27 referendum.
“It shows us where Lukashenko wants to go. “It can use our territory to (develop) nuclear weapons, which will pose a huge threat to Europe.”
“All countries must reject the result of this referendum, which is not legal. “If something happens to a nuclear weapon, Lukashenko will be responsible.” “We want to be a neutral country,” he said, adding that the presence of Russian troops was not necessarily a guarantee of security for Alexander Lukashenko either.
“He is weak and could say that one day, when the Kremlin will no longer need him, he will get rid of him.”
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