Belarus leader looks to Putin to help him cling on to power

Belarus’s embattled strongman Alexander Lukashenko mopped his brow under Vladimir Putin‘s gaze today as he flew to Russia to beg for the Kremlin’s support to keep him in power. 

The man nicknamed the ‘last dictator in Europe’ cut a submissive figure as he pleaded with Putin to back his regime while the bored-looking Russian president said he was ‘sure’ that Lukashenko could fend off the mass protests.  

Lukashenko is facing the gravest crisis of his 26 years in power and has failed to reclaim the streets from demonstrators since claiming victory in a disputed election last month. 

But economic and military support from Moscow could help tip the balance in Lukashenko’s favour as his security forces crack down hard on the opposition.

The key meeting in Sochi today came as the UN rights chief decried hundreds of allegations of torture amid the crackdown on protests in Belarus, calling for investigations into all reports of ill-treatment, and for perpetrators to be tried. 

Body language expert Judi James told MailOnline that Putin appeared ‘distracted’ at today’s summit, fidgeting with his armchair and playing with his tie while listening to Lukashenko’s pleas for support. 

‘The power signals all seem to belong to Putin here as he sits in full alpha splay mode, facing front and with his arms and knees spread to register confidence and status,’ she said. 

‘His role seems to be mainly that of listener as Lukashenko offers something of a monologue so emotional it lacks much in the way of pauses.’

The Belarusian president closed his hand in ‘what looks like a plead gesture’, she said, while patting his brow with a handkerchief in a gesture which ‘makes it appear he is under some pressure here’.  

The Belarusian opposition accuses Lukashenko of rigging last month’s presidential election, which he says he won fairly with 80 per cent of the vote. 

Since then, thousands of people have been arrested and nearly all the opposition’s key leaders have been detained, deported or forced to flee the country.

At least 100,000 protesters took to the streets of the capital Minsk on Sunday, taunting Lukashenko with chants of ‘You’re a rat’. Police said they detained over 400 people.

Footage showed crowds of women taking on security forces despite one female protester being bundled into a vehicle by Lukashenko’s riot police. 

One elderly woman was loudly cheered after whacking a man with a broom as he tried to escape a crowd of protesters. 

‘Given their scale and number, all allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment by the security forces should be documented and investigated, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice,’ Michelle Bachelet told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s 45th session in Geneva. 

Putin’s actions so far suggest he has no desire to see the leader of a neighbouring ex-Soviet country toppled by pressure from the streets – even if Lukashenko has often proved a prickly and difficult ally.

The opposition has dismissed Lukashenko’s talk about constitutional reform as an attempt to win time and assuage the protesters’ anger. 

But Putin hailed it as a ‘timely and reasonable’ move that would help ‘reach a new level in the development of the political system.’ 

Putin also said that Russia would provide a $1.5billion loan to Belarus and fulfill all its obligations under a union treaty between the two neighbours. 

‘We want Belarusians themselves, without prompting and pressure from outside, to sort out this situation in a calm manner and through dialogue and to find a common solution,’ Putin said. 

‘First of all, I want to thank you…personally thank you and all Russians, all those, and I will not list them, who were involved in supporting us during this post-election time,’ Lukashenko said after the talks. 

The Kremlin leader said last month he had set up a ‘reserve police force’ at Lukashenko’s request, but it would be deployed only if needed. 

On Monday Russia will send paratroopers to Belarus for joint ‘Slavic brotherhood’ military drills until September 25, RIA news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying.

Russia has also offered to restructure Belarusian debt and support the banking system.

The cost of further Moscow backing could be Lukashenko’s acceptance of even greater Russian dominance in the relationship between the two countries.

The Kremlin has long pushed for closer political and economic integration with Minsk, including a joint currency, but Lukashenko has resisted the pressure from his more powerful neighbour.

Yet the veteran Belarusian leader’s position could become increasingly precarious should the protests persist, and grow.

The Kremlin said the talks would cover the ‘prospects for moving forward integration processes’, adding that the leaders would discuss the countries’ strategic partnership as well as trade and energy ties.

Russia dwarfs Belarus and provides it with cheap fuel, while Belarus is strategically important to Russia as a buffer zone against the EU and NATO. 

The two countries have already formed a close relationship as a ‘union state’ with strong military and economic links and an open border until the coronavirus outbreak. 

Sunday’s demonstration was one of the biggest yet.

‘We have to show with this march that he doesn’t control the country, that he is not in a position to speak on behalf of Belarusians,’ said Gennady, 35, a logistics worker.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who claims she was the true winner of the election, condemned Putin for negotiating with ‘illegitimate Lukashenko.’ 

‘I really regret you decided to hold dialogue with a usurper and not with the Belarusian people,’ said Tikhanovskaya, who has taken refuge in Lithuania.