Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko: Belarusian self-exiled opposition, foreign special services work on three scenarios

MINSK, 20 February (BelTA) – The Belarusian self-exiled opposition and their handlers from the foreign special services are working on three main scenarios, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a large meeting with the senior staff of the national security agencies in Minsk on 20 February, BelTA has learned.

"Everyone, both here and there, needs to understand the real situation and our awareness. This is important. Especially now, on the eve of all sorts of political events in our country. The country is currently gearing up for the most important events: the single voting day, the formation of the Belarusian People’s Congress. They will try to rock our boat again. It's obvious. The scheme will not change. They will come up with new triggers to destabilize the society and we must be prepared for that," the Belarusian leader said.

"All the fake and unimportant information aside, Belarusian self-exiled opposition and their handlers from the foreign special services are working on three main scenarios of action during this period," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

First scenario

"The first one is the most desirable for them. This is the organization of a coup d'état or a violent seizure of power directly during the election campaign. Yet, they assess it as unlikely. They do not yet see any real prerequisites for destabilizing the situation by analogy with 2020," the head of state said.

Second scenario

“The second scenario is the main one. They will use the current election campaign as a rehearsal and initial stage to prepare for a coup d'état during the upcoming presidential election in 2025,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “All the main forces and resources will be used to fuel social discontent and provoke a new wave of protest.”

“As I said earlier, we are being watched very closely. They are waiting for the authorities to make a mistake in order to use it for their advantage. This cannot be allowed,” the president emphasized.

Third scenario

“The third scenario is a reserve one, a so-called long game with extensive use of soft power instruments in case the first two scenarios fail. In fact, this game has been on as long as sovereign Belarus has existed,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state believes that this scenario is most feasible, because Belarus will simply not allow the first two ones.

"Today some instruments of this soft power have been neutralized. We have drastically revised our approaches to the anti-Belarusian foundations and alleged human rights organizations inside Belarus. The parties were re-registered. People have seen the anti-national nature of the so-called opposition leaders who are begging for favors in Western capitals," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “They have been outlawed in Belarus. But they are trying and will continue to try to influence emotionally vulnerable people through social media and messengers, to develop new channels of communication and control over the masses. They learn from their mistakes. We should not have the illusion of absolute victory."

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the success of the anti-Belarusian campaign is a matter of survival for the self-exiled opposition: "They have sold out their homeland, are running out of money. Life in Europe is expensive. Therefore, they will go to any length."

As for global players in the political arena, the stakes are even higher. "It's not even about the millions they wasted on failed riots. They will print more. We are talking about reputational losses at the level of international politics. The hegemon is tired of suffering defeats in Belarus, which not even every American will find on the world map," the president said.

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