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At the CSTO summit (left to right) CSTO secretary general Stanislav Zas, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. / TASS, Kremlin.ru
Lukashenko hits out at lack of unity shown by member nations of Russia- led military bloc
bne IntelIiNews
There must be some discomfort
in the Kremlin that, apart from Belarus, members of the Russia- led defence bloc have not spoken up
in support of the Russian invasion
of Ukraine. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko indirectly addressed that sore spot on May 16 as, speaking at a summit of the leaders
of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Moscow, he urged all members of the military alliance to stand united.
Lukashenko said "hellish sanctions" against Belarus and Russia could have been avoided if the group had spoken with a united voice. Lukashenko’s remarks appeared to be especially directed at CSTO members like
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Kazakhstan, which have not openly backed Vladimir Putin’s military
move to bring Ukraine to heel despite continuing to maintain close economic and political ties with Russia. During the violent civil unrest seen in Kazakhstan in January, the CSTO sent
a “peacekeeping” force mainly made
up of Russian troops to support current Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev whom some analysts concluded was threatened by a potential coup.
"Without a united front, the collective West will build up pressure on the post-Soviet space," Lukashenko said in televised opening remarks, in which he addressed Russian president Putin along with the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
He also accused the West of hoping to prolong the war in Ukraine in an effort to weaken Russia.
“Lukashenko said "hellish sanctions" against Belarus and Russia could have been avoided if the CSTO had spoken with a united voice”