Ramanchuk: The Kremlin will not Change Authorities in Belarus

After his visit to Moscow, the presidential candidate of the United Civil Party Yaraslau Ramanchuk spoke with a journalist of the news portal www.UDF.BY about the influence of the economic conflicts and information war on the attitude of Russian politicians to our country, as well as about the prospects of intervention of the Kremlin in the outcome of the forthcoming presidential elections in Belarus.

The chairman of the UCP Anatol Lyabedzka, his deputy Yaraslau Ramanchuk, and the member of the Political Council of the party Alexander Dabravolsky attended the jubilee celebration of the co-chairman of the party "Pravoye delo" Leonid Gozman in Moscow.

According to Yaraslau Ramanchuk, the trip turned out to be diverse, and communication with representatives of the Russian elite was much more intense than "on formal conferences and round tables".

The Belarusian politicians talked with the director general of the "Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies" Anatoliy Chubais, the deputy chairman of the Government of Russia Alexei Kudrin, the economist Yevgeny Gotmaher, and representatives of the State Duma. In addition, "there was a live broadcast on the radio "Echo of Moscow" and recording of an hour-long interview on Radio Liberty which will be
released on weekend within the programme "Face to Face", said Yaraslau Ramanchuk.

He noted the increased interest of the Russian political elite in Belarus.

"The attitude is changing because people begin to understand more. For many experts, the Kremlin's decision to show known documentaries ("The Goddad" and "Goddad 2" - udf.by) on NTV channel was partly a surprise. And not everyone thinks this is the visual sign of a complete break-off with [i]Lukashenka. Many Russian analysts believe that after some quarreling there will be peace. Nevertheless, changes in mood and content of the relations are obvious, and today there is a much higher demand for alternative ways of development of relations with Russia, for alternative people and concepts than it was before."[/i]

However, as Yaraslau Ramanchuk said, the Kremlin does not support the Belarusian opposition even now, and is "unlikely to support in the future". He also does not believe in Russian intervention in the scenario of the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus.

"For certain Belarusian politicians it would be advantageous to think that the Kremlin can stake on some sort of an almost democratically-oriented candidate, and to imagine that there is a European candidate and a pro-Russian candidate, and so, of course, they should fight for the European one", said Mr. Ramanchuk. "I do not know anybody among democratic candidates who would surrender Belarus, who would do what a number of Russian chauvinists want from him. So the Kremlin will pragmatically strive for its aims within the agreements signed by Belarus and at the same time will keep an eye on Lukashenka's opponents giving them the opportunity to have more contacts with the media. But this cannot be called a form of support of some candidate, and more so, a part of the programme for capture or transformation of power in Belarus."

The presidential candidate of the UCP noted that the democratic forces of Belarus can count on the support of their Russian partners, as well as on access to the information space in Russia.

According to him, the neighboring state has experts, analysts, and consultants who have been supporting democratic transition in both Russia and Belarus for a long time.

"I think there will be more opportunities to talk with Russian society, with businessmen through the Russian media, and with its help to contact the Belarusians as well."

According to the politician, Alexander Lukashenka has already lost a monopoly on information about Belarus in the Russian information space.