MOSCOW, September (BelTA) – The West clearly fears the integration of Belarus and Russia more than the migrants crisis on the Polish border, editor-in-chief of the analytical website "Eurasia. Expert" Vyacheslav Sutyrin told BelTA commenting the recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament.
"Hostile ‘geopolitical' statements of the European Parliament, initiated by Baltic and Polish politicians, are not binding. In fact, this is media hype," the Russian expert said. "However, it reveals the thinking of the circles shaping the policy of the European Union today.”
Vyacheslav Sutyrin stated that in the new resolution the European Parliament switched to direct threats of imposing sanctions against Russia for supporting Belarus. "Russian economic support and investments are defamed as support for Aleksandr Lukashenko personally, although any sensible person understands that this is support for the Belarusian economy and people, the common market," he stressed. “MEPs call to destroy the Belarusian economy for the sake of the regime change. Judging by the resolution they do not care how this will affect the standard of living of people.”
“The European Parliament condemned the Union State programs signed by Moscow and Minsk. Does it mean that the European Union has the right for integration while Russia and Belarus do not? No one is even trying to hide double standards there. It is a paradox, but actually this situation benefits Minsk. The West is obviously more afraid of Belarus-Russia integration than migrants on the Polish border. By integrating with Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko restrains the hotheads in the West that call for economic war and regime change in Belarus,” the expert said.
“How should Belarus and Russia respond to this? First, we have to stop playing the game imposed by the West about the mythical threat to the sovereignty of Belarus from Russia. The purpose is to slow down the real economic integration, making the Belarusian economy vulnerable to the pressure of Western sanctions and the country's authorities more compliant. We need to act fast to bolster the economic sovereignty of the Union State in order to be ready to face new sanctions (which are surely to come),” Vyacheslav Sutyrin said.
Secondly, the Russian expert is convinced that it would be logical to respond to the European Parliament with a statement of the Parliamentary Assembly of Belarus and Russia.
“Finally, the two countries need to continue integration in the defense sector. The more there is real integration between Belarus and Russia, the sooner the Western neighbors will start respecting Minsk and reckon with its interests,” Vyacheslav Sutyrin said.
