Original article: de.euronews.com
"Europe needs to wake up", warns former Belarusian Minister of Culture Pavel Latushka.
Pavel Latushka served as Belarus’s Minister of Culture. In 2020, he joined the protests against Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In a conversation with Euronews, Latushka explained why it is dangerous to abandon Belarusian society.
The former Minister of Culture, Pavel Latushka, joined the Belarusian democratic movement after the brutal suppression of protests in Belarus in 2020. He is currently the Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, a political body representing Belarusian democratic forces. From exile, he fights for a free Belarus. In an interview with Euronews, he spoke about what the policies of the new U.S. President Donald Trump mean for Europe and the war in Ukraine, as well as why abandoning Belarusian society is dangerous.
Euronews: As Minister of Culture, you worked with dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Now, you support the Belarusian opposition. What caused this change?
Pavel Latushka: It was always an internal conflict. At a certain point, you start compromising. You try to justify yourself.
Euronews: Ukraine is engulfed in war. Can Belarus act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine?
Pavel Latushka: Lukashenko is Russia's most important ally in the war against Ukraine. Not North Korea, not China, not Iran, but Lukashenko. He provided Russia with Belarus as a strategic and territorial "balcony."
In 2020, a mistake was made. Back then, one million Belarusians took to the streets for several months in villages, small towns, and large cities. If our Western partners had listened to us then and imposed tough sanctions on Lukashenko, it could have changed the situation. Most likely, there would have been no war between Russia and Ukraine, or at least it wouldn’t have had such devastating consequences.
Euronews: In previous interviews, you mentioned that Ukraine's potential victory and the democratization process in Belarus are closely interconnected.
Pavel Latushka: Ukraine's victory would undoubtedly have a significant impact. However, it would be wrong to rely on one situation to resolve all our problems. Belarus’s future depends solely on the Belarusian people. To hope that someone in Berlin, Brussels, or Washington will solve our problems is pure utopia. Nonetheless, the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity will lead to Russia’s defeat. This, in turn, could give us a chance for real change in Belarus.
Belarus’s future depends solely on the Belarusian people. To hope that someone in Berlin, Brussels, or Washington will solve our problems is pure utopia.
Euronews: Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election in 2024. He previously announced significant cuts in defense funding for Europe and Ukraine. How will his policies affect security in Europe?
Pavel Latushka: Europe needs to wake up. Responsibility for Europe’s security lies primarily with European politicians. This means more resources for our own security, more resources to combat propaganda [from Russia and Belarus], and, as a result, strengthening Europe. A strong Europe is in the interests of Belarusian democratic forces.
Euronews: Does this mean Trump’s policies could benefit Ukraine?
Pavel Latushka: Germany is one of the most powerful economies in the EU and can make a significant contribution to financing Europe’s defense potential. If Germany moves in this direction, it will encourage many European countries to follow suit and fund defense in Europe on a much larger scale. Almost all heads of state and government in European countries speak of the need to increase defense funding. And we’re not just talking about 2%, but more than 2%, as President Trump initially called for during his election campaign.
Euronews: Trump stated that he would "quickly" end the war in Ukraine and "force" Ukraine to come to the negotiating table.
Pavel Latushka: Even if we imagine a ceasefire, it will likely have the opposite effect. Russian propaganda and Lukashenko’s propaganda will portray this so-called peace or ceasefire as their victory, as proof that they managed to force the West to capitulate and retreat from its positions. This will motivate Russian society for further aggression. It will only be a temporary pause before a much larger war, which will again unfold in Ukraine and possibly in neighboring countries.
Russian propaganda and Lukashenko’s propaganda will portray this so-called peace or ceasefire as their victory [...].
Euronews: The "traffic light" coalition in Germany has collapsed. Right-wing and left-wing populist parties are gaining more support. What does this political instability in Germany mean for Europe?
Pavel Latushka: A strong Germany is a guarantee of a strong Europe. Germany is a leader in upholding international law, respecting human rights, freedom of speech, and all other international standards. If Germany abandons this role, it would spell disaster — namely, the continuation of an even more massive war. This could lead to societal division and the escalation of social conflicts within Europe, which is in Russia’s interests. After all, Russia is investing enormous resources to demotivate the European community from helping Ukraine.
Euronews: Why should Germany support Belarusian democratic forces and the democratic movement in Belarus?
Pavel Latushka: From Berlin to Minsk is a very short distance. This short distance carries a serious threat. It won’t take long [if support for Belarusian democracy-oriented society ceases] before soldiers in Russian or Belarusian uniforms stand on the EU’s border, ready to penetrate European territory. This is a real scenario.
Dictators survive only when they expand their territories, when they restore their empires.
We must wake up. We must understand that this will happen. Dictators survive only when they expand their territories, when they restore their empires. Putin’s current goal is to restore the Soviet Union.
Euronews: The next presidential elections in Belarus are scheduled for January 26, 2025. Do Belarusian democratic forces have any chance of participating in them?
Pavel Latushka: There are no elections in Belarus. The atmosphere of fear and terror has led to the departure of an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 people from Belarus. How can we talk about elections under such conditions, when arrests and detentions happen daily?
Euronews: What opportunities does the Belarusian opposition have to resist?
Pavel Latushka: The National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM), which I lead [the creation of the NAM was supported by the Coordination Council], has gathered evidence of crimes against humanity [and the Belarusian people]. The Lithuanian government has already approached the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a request to investigate crimes against humanity committed by the Belarusian regime under Lukashenko and has submitted the relevant materials.
I ask German politicians: what is stopping you from taking this step and supporting Lithuania’s appeal to the ICC? What is preventing the Greens, who lead Germany’s foreign policy, from taking this step today? The answer does not satisfy me.
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