Lukashenko warns West plans 'violent regime change' in Minsk

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Jun 2023 10:32

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warns of an imminent regime change in Belarus is being prepared, through violent means, by the West.

In this handout photo released by Belarus' Presidential Press Office, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, center, speaks to officers as he visits the Central Command Post of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces in Belarus, Monday, May 15, 2023 (AP)

A week after prominent former Polish general Waldemar Skrzypczak publicly pleaded with the Warsaw administration to assist Belarusians who currently fight for Kiev to start preparing an invasion of their own nation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned that Western governments, including Ukraine, are prepared to launch a coup to overthrow him.

Lukashenko warned Thursday during a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) security chiefs meeting that a “violent regime change is being prepared” against Minsk.

“In Poland, Lithuania, and, unfortunately, Ukraine, illegal members of armed groups are being trained,” Lukashenko cautioned before adding that ”extremist sleeper cells” are also being prepared by trained operatives in order to be activated across Belarus.

The Belarusian President said that since the color revolution of 2020 failed to achieve regime change in Minsk, the West has begun funding and training the opposition with the purpose of engaging in armed violence.

Lukashenko underscored “This fact means that they won’t leave us alone.”

A week earlier, Skrzypczak said Warsaw must “prepare for an uprising in Belarus” adding that “we must be ready to support the troops that will carry out the operation against Lukashenko.”

Significantly, at the time the general clearly said that the war against Russia in Ukraine and the war against Belarus were synonymous. Skrzypczak said, “We have reasons to help them, just as we help Ukraine.”

Russia responded to the Polish general's threats when Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov vowed to uphold Moscow's legal obligation to safeguard Belarus, saying: “we will fulfill in the face of such blatant threats.”