Russian and Belarusian Presidents Discuss Polish Problem
July 24, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg on July 23, where they took up the growing danger of a Polish reaction to the inevitable collapse of the Kiev regime, potentially becoming the new theater of conflict if the Ukrainian one dies down. Lukashenko referenced Putin’s remarks regarding Poland from his July 21 address in front of the Russian Security Council, where Putin said “massive efforts are being taken to stoke the fire of war—including by exploiting the ambitions of certain East European leaders, who have long turned their hatred for Russia and Russophobia into their key export commodity and a tool of their domestic policy.” Continuing, he said: “The outlook is clear: In the event Polish forces enter, say, Lvov or other Ukrainian territories, they will stay there, and they will stay there for good.” This should not be surprising, Putin said, because Poland has revanchist aspirations, and dreams of seizing parts of Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belarus, as they did after World War I.
With that in mind, consider what Lukashenko said: “They—exactly as you said recently—started involving Poland and are actively engaging mercenaries. I have specially brought a map for you, depicting a deployment of Polish armed forces to the borders of the Union State, what you have spoken about,” he said. “One brigade that was once 500 km from Brest is now just 40 km away, he added. The Poles have also opened a repair center for Leopard tanks and have turned over an airfield—Rzeszow—to the American military.”
Lukashenko continued: “Poland raises a question: what does it get in exchange? It is clear: money, armaments, this is clear. But now—you have also noted this—there are a lot of speculation about Ukraine gaining admission to NATO piecemeal. What is behind this?” Putin responded: “Western Ukraine.”
Of course, Lukashenko said. “They want to chop off western Ukraine and join it to Poland. This is the payment for the active participation of the Poles in this operation, against the forces of the Russian Federation, of course. This is supported by the Americans.” But, “It is unacceptable to us, Mr. Putin. It is unacceptable to tear off western Ukrainian, dismember Ukraine and hand over these lands to Poland.” He promised that if the people of western Ukraine oppose this, Belarus will support them militarily, a point he emphasized a few times to Putin.
While it is not known what else the two Presidents discussed or what plans are being made, it is crystal clear that the two are taking extremely seriously any attempts by Western factions to create a new “Poland project” as their “Ukraine project” becomes all used up.
