Pavel Seviarynets: Lukashenka is Putin's puppet who won't condemn occupation of Crimea

This is the only explanation of Belarus' refusal to sign the final declaration of the Eastern Partnership summit.

It was reported today that Belarus and Armenia were the only countries who didn't sign the final declaration of the EaP summit because it contained a phrase about the occupation of Crimea. Pavel Seviarynets, a co-head of the organising committee to create Belarusian Christian Democracy party and former political prisoner, tells charter97.org why this move was predictable and why it shows that the Belarusian authorities are on the Kremlin's tight leash.

“This is an obvious step that can be explained with the fear of the Kremlin. This step confirms that the current Belarusian government does not want to have strategic relations with Europe and does not want to observe generally accepted international norms and rules.

The occupation of Crimea is a heinous international crime. It is what Belarus may face. The fact that the Lukashenka regime is not ready to condemn this crime confirms that Lukashenka himself can become a victim of a similar occupation.

As an independent state, Belarus must support and respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of our neighbours. It was demonstrated again that power in Belarus belongs to the illegal puppet regime kept on a tight leash of Putin,” the politician said.

The Eastern Partnership summit is held in Riga on May 21-22, 2015. Official Minsk is represented by the delegation led by foreign minister Uladzimir Makei. The participation of Belarus in the EaP summit can be regarded as formal, though organisers wait for the arrival of the Belarusian leadership in Latvia until the last moment. Families of the Belarusian political prisoners do not understand what representatives of the Belarusian regime do at the high-level European event. Human rights defenders also think there are no grounds to make concessions to official Minsk.