Viachaslau Pazniak: Nothing prevents Nikolas Madura from visiting Minsk

Election of Nikolas Madura as a Hugo Chavez’s successor on the presidential position will allow Belarusan authorities to follow the former cooperation track with this state.

This opinion in the talk with the EuroBelarus information Service shared Viachaslau Pazniak, political scientist, PhD in philosophy, assistant professor at European Humanities University.

He recalled that at the times of Hugo Chavez’s rule the authorities of Belarus and Venezuela referred to each other as “strategic partners”. “It was the sort of collaboration that meant a lot, for Minsk in particular, especially on the domestic and foreign policy side. We should also bear in mind that except numerous launched projects there existed personal, emotional ties, - noted the expert. – This package, this legacy makes Venezuela an important, prominent and valuable partner both in the economic and in the political and strategic sphere for the Belarusan authorities”.

When congratulating Nikolas Madura on winning presidential election, Aliaksandr Lukashenka invited him on an official visit to Belarus at any suitable time. However, Viachaslau Pazniak thinks that in the near future we shouldn’t expect this visit. “Of course, newly elected president has enough troubles at home”, - said the political scientist. But he emphasized that on the whole he sees “no serious impediments” to make this visit happen.

The political scientist finds actions of the Belarusan authorities, who showed leaning towards Nikolas Madura, “absolutely logical”. “With all the store of relations that Minsk has, it is only natural that Minsk is interested in continuity. That is why this candidate received support. All the more that his chances were rather high”, - recalled Viachaslau Pazniak.

But even if the chances of Nikolas Madura were not that high, the emotional connection with his predecessor and the presence of a number of launched joint projects had been dictating the political preferences of the Belarusan side all the same.

“One could remain neutral in relation to both candidates if Belarus didn’t have any interests and stakes. However, if the candidate received support that could freeze the relations to a considerable degree or decline a number of projects, such choice would be strange and illogical”, - Viachaslau Pazniak stated.