Vytautas Landsbergis: Lukashenka's “master” allows him to make critical remarks

It cannot be ruled out that Putin allowed Lukashenka to criticise Russia.

The statement was made by MEP Vytautas Landsbergis, the first head of state of independent Lithuania in the early 1990s, who takes part in the international Forum 2000 conference in Prague. The politician talked to RFE/RL about the dictator's remarks about Putin and Russia.

“Of course, the words of Mr Lukashenka are not enough,” he said. “We should understand that he feels a threat. He sees that Moscow can do whatever it wants. It also can do it to him. It can annex, organise a 'plebiscite' as if people want to join Russia.

The army has been captured. There is an agreement on the common armed forces, so Lukashenka does not have real instruments to resist. He must worry. He demonstrates it by criticising his master.

He hasn't been punished seriously for his criticism so far. But it is only a formal level. He might have Putin's consent on his statements, who knows. You can say anything, but you are not allowed to act. We can recall president Obama's unsuccessful remark before his second term. He said to Dmitry Medvedev to tell Vladimir Putin that he had to make harsher statements, but everything would be normal after the election.

It is 100 times more probable to suppose that Lukashenka has permission to criticise Putin to show himself as an independent pro-European politician to confuse Europe.”