MOSCOW — Besieged by protesters at residence, the embattled strongman chief of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, traveled to Russia on Monday looking for assist from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
In the beginning of talks within the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Mr. Lukashenko dropped the swaggering bravado he shows inside Belarus and posed as an alternative as a grateful supplicant, describing Russia as his nation’s “older brother” and thanking Mr. Putin and “all Russians” for serving to him out.
As Mr. Putin made an announcement opening 4 hours of talks, describing Belarus as “our closest ally,” Mr. Lukashenko wrote down the Russian chief’s phrases in a pocket book balanced on his knees, resembling extra an assiduous pupil or obedient junior official than the president of an impartial state.
His show of deference highlighted how, dealing with the gravest disaster of his 26-year rule within the East European nation, he now depends more on Russia than on his own people for survival.
Mr. Putin opened the assembly, the primary between the 2 authoritarian leaders of the neighboring Slavic states for the reason that disaster in Belarus started, by congratulating Mr. Lukashenko on his landslide victory in a disputed Aug. 9 election. He additionally supplied a $1.5 billion mortgage.
However the Russian president moved on rapidly from gestures of help to endorse the concept of Belarus altering its Structure to open the way in which for brand spanking new elections.
Stating that “we wish Belarusians to kind this case out on their very own,” he additionally urged dialogue — one thing that Mr. Lukashenko has repeatedly dominated out along with his opponents, whom he has scorned as “rats” and “tricksters” manipulated by the West.
Mr. Lukashenko, clearly uncomfortable, mopped his forehead with a handkerchief when Mr. Putin completed speaking.
The Belarusian chief has in latest weeks additionally raised the potential of revising the Structure. However few consider new elections are a severe risk any time quickly, not least as a result of he declared in August that “till you kill me, there is not going to be any extra elections.”
Mr. Putin, stated Andrei Kortunov the director common of the Russian Worldwide Affairs Council, “has by no means trusted or preferred Lukashenko” and could be blissful to see him eased out slowly, however not below strain from the road. Permitting protesters to prevail, Mr. Kortunov stated would “be a severe existential problem for Russia: ‘How can we justify our personal system if our subsequent door neighbor can do higher?’ ”
However propping up Mr. Lukashenko indefinitely, he stated, “additionally has huge dangers for Russia,” as that may alienate its neighbor’s usually pro-Russia inhabitants. Mr. Lukashenko, he stated, “is completed as a authentic chief who enjoys the help if not of a majority however of a giant a part of the inhabitants.” All the identical, he added: “It’s nonetheless too early to write down him off.”
Mr. Lukashenko’s major rival within the August election, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was pressured to flee Belarus after she contested the end result, warned in an announcement on Monday that any settlement reached in Sochi “may have no authorized power” as a result of Mr. Lukashenko was not the nation’s authentic chief.
Addressing President Putin, she added: “I’m very sorry that you just determined to have a dialogue with the usurper, and never with the Belarusian folks.”
Keen to indicate that he nonetheless has a grip on his nation forward of his talks in Russia, Mr. Lukashenko on Sunday deployed his sprawling and to this point loyal safety equipment to attempt to stop one other day of giant protests. Tens of 1000’s of individuals nonetheless took to the road to clamor for his resignation.
The Inside Ministry stated on Monday that 774 folks had been detained throughout Sunday’s nationwide rallies, greater than 500 of them in Minsk. It was probably the most arrests on a single day since early within the protests when riot cops tried, with out success, to maintain folks off the road with a frenzy of violence and mass arrests.
Mr. Putin has lengthy been brazenly impatient with Mr. Lukashenko, a pacesetter he’s stated to view as erratic and unreliable, and who has sought to maintain Moscow at arm’s size to protect Belarus’ sovereignty and in addition his personal unbridled powers. However, cautious of seeing a fellow strongman toppled by protests, Mr. Putin introduced late final month that he had formed a “reserve force” of Russian security officers able to intervene in Belarus if the “state of affairs will get uncontrolled.”
The Kremlin has not but deployed the power, however Russia has taken an more and more energetic position in Belarus, sending in advisers to assist Mr. Lukashenko and Russian journalists to fill jobs in state media left vacant by the resignation of native staffers who’ve sided with the protests. Russia, Mr. Putin stated in August, “is definitely not detached to what’s taking place there.”
Mr. Putin made clear to Mr. Lukashenko on Monday that he anticipated progress towards the formation of a so-called Union State, a largely stillborn mission that was agreed within the late 1990s however which Mr. Lukashenko has resisted implementing out of worry that he might find yourself being lowered to little greater than a regional governor below Kremlin management.
In his personal remarks at first of talks with Mr. Putin in Sochi, Mr. Lukashenko repeated what has turn into his favourite pitch for Russian help: His survival as chief is the one solution to shield Belarus and in addition Russia from the machinations of the West. He claimed that NATO has been massing troops on his nation border, one thing that the American-led navy alliance has strongly denied.
