EEAS representative Peter Stano demanded that the Belarusian authorities release Siarhei Cikhanouski (Tsikhanouski) and other people. Hence, the collective West named its candidate for the Belarusian presidential elections. NATO countries love Cikhanouski for his participation in protests against modification of the Treaty on Union State between Belarus and Russia.
A number of media outlets, dozens of Telegram channels and other West-financed pro-Maidan structures pursue an information campaign against Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The West is fine with either keeping Lukashenka in power conditioned with his drifting to the West, or with the organisation of complete chaos in Belarus. Belarus has gained the larger attention of global actors after the 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine. Washington is clear about its intention to encircle Russia with an “Anakonda ring”, i.e. to create a belt of adversary states under NATO’s control.
Belarus’s pseudo-neutral status covers up NATO plans to engage it into a military conflict with Russia. In the energy sector, the US plans to tear Belarus away from the Russian oil market. American oil companies extract oil in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan but Russia would deny its transit to Belarus through Russia’s territory. This will provoke strained relations and conflicts between them and Russia.