US lawmakers have criticized Belarus’ recently held ‘elections’ claiming they were merely a publicity stunt for regime leader Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The US Department of State defined the elections as a “sham,” adding that they were “held in a climate of fear under which no electoral processes could be called democratic.”
Belarus has been led by Lukashenko for the past thirty years. American leaders consider Lukashenko a mere puppet for Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Belarus and Russia have maintained strong economic, diplomatic, and military ties in recent decades.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller condemned Lukashenko’s repression of political dissidents.
“The regime continues to hold more than 1,400 political prisoners. All independent political figures have either been detained or exiled,” claimed Miller.
US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently explained the extent of Belarus’ dependency on Russia.
“Belarus is theoretically its own independent country, but their leaders do nothing without Vladimir Putin,” described Rubio. “In fact, when Vladimir Putin decided that he was going to station troops and nuclear weapons in Belarus, Belarus didn’t have the right to say, we don’t want you to do that.”
Senator Rubio warned that Russia’s war against Ukraine is partly motivated by a desire to transform Ukraine into a Belarus-like state.
“If we cut all of Ukraine’s money…the Russians would then be able to negotiate a deal that could very much leave us with a Ukraine that looks like Belarus, with a puppet government,” warned Rubio.
The US Senate recently passed a sweeping $95 billion foreign aid spending bill that would, among other things, fund Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
Many Republicans, including Rubio, oppose the bill for its failure to address the current southwest border migratory crisis.
Rubio described the migratory crisis as a more pressing national security threat than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“As important as all of this is—as important as what’s happened in the invasion of Ukraine is—our country is facing an invasion, too,” concluded Rubio.
The aid package now sits in the House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has stated he will halt the bill from reaching the floor for a vote.
