Western sanctions against Russia ‘boomeranged’ & hurting ordinary people, says Lukashenko

Following the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Monday, the latter said that western sanctions against both the countries had “boomeranged”, reported Belarus news. The embargoes have harmed the West’s own ordinary citizens more than Moscow or Minsk, Lukashenko said. “Now it is obvious to everyone that such restrictions have boomeranged. It is not those who invent the sanctions that suffer, but ordinary people and business,” he added. 

This is not the first time that Lukashenko has commented regarding the “failed” sanctions from European countries. He reiterated in October during the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Bishkek that the process of “churning out economic sanctions against Belarus and Russia by the West is beginning to fade”. The US and its EU allies have embarked on a sweeping embargo against Russia and Belarus in February, citing the escalating conflict in Ukraine.

Prior to the meeting, Ukraine military had raised concerns that Putin would urge Lukashenko into joining Russia’s invasion. Press Secretary for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, rejected the reports saying that such reports were “absolutely stupid and baseless fabrications”. Belarus, one of Russia's closest allies, allowed its territory to be used as a launchpad for Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine, but has not joined the fighting directly.

Putin visits Minsk after three and a half years

This was a rare trip for Putin to Minsk as Moscow’s ally Belarus’  forces pursued their campaign to bombard Ukraine from the air amid a broad battlefield stalemate almost 10 months into the war. Putin’s visit to Minsk came hours after Russia’s latest drone attack on Ukraine. Moscow has been targeting Ukraine’s power grid since October as part of a strategy to deprive the country of heat and power during winter.

Putin said he and Lukashenko discussed forming “a single defense space” in the region but rejected claims that Moscow was poised to swallow its neighbor. “Russia isn’t interested in any kind of merger, it’s not feasible,” Putin said. Putin said that he supported Lukashenko’s proposal to train the crews of Belarusian warplanes that have already been modified for using special warheads — a reference to nuclear weapons, reported AP.