Paul
Goble
Staunton, February 8 – Most
discussions about Russia and Belarus at the present time focus on global questions
ranging from “will Putin move to annex Belarus?” to “will Lukashenka turn to
the West and be accepted if he does?”
But the Politburo2 telegram channel offers a useful corrective focusing
specifically on the agenda of Putin’s point man in Belarus.
That man is Mikhail Babich, who is
both Russian ambassador to Minsk and special representative of the Russian
president. Since arriving in Belarus, the
telegram channel says, Babich has focused on the nuts and bolts of economic
cooperation and worked to overcome the inertia in relations between the two
parts of the union state (t.me/politburo2/2347).
It sometimes
seemed before his arrival, Politburo2 says, that no one was paying particular
attention to the Union Treaty and its provisions. But thanks to Babich’s work,
that is no longer the case. Unfortunately, the telegram channel says, the
increased activity of the West in Belarus means that the Russian representative
has had to expand his agenda.
Specifically, Politburo2 says, Babich
and his mission are working on “four fronts:”
1.
“Opposing
the expansion of the West and its ‘soft power.’”
2.
“Interacting
with Belarusian elites and Alyaksandr Lukashenka personally” by “explaining Russian
positions and dispelling numerous myths.”
3.
“Reforming
the media and information agenda of Russia relative to the Republic of Belarus because
in too many cases, Russian media materials have had a negative impact on
Belarusian public opinion.”
4.
“Overcoming
the inertia of the Russian bureaucracy and opposition from the side by
participants of shadowy schemes.”
Babich’s “main resource,” the telegram
channel says, is ‘the high degree of trust’ he enjoys from Putin and his
opportunities to speak directly” with both presidents. But given the legacy of
the past, Politburo2 continues, there is a great deal of work to be done and no
reason to assume that everything will be solved right away.
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