Why did Lukashenko come to Georgia?

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s visit to Tbilisi attracts great interest among politicians and analysts.

It should be stressed that Lukashenko pays his official visit to Georgia for the first time in his 30-year of governance.

It has been mentioned many times that Russia hindered Lukasheko’s coming to Georgia owing to its strained relationship with Georgia and the consequences of the August War 2008.

According to Lukashenko and Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili, the pair were on quite good terms and it was a personal merit of the Belarusian President that the country refrained from recognizing Georgia’s de-facto regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

The Georgian President’s administration has been working for a year to plan and organize the visit.

Many believe that as well as coming to discuss certain offers with regard to political-economic issues, Lukashnko might also bring the messages sent by Russia in terms of the Russia-ruled Eurasian Union.

The Georgian President’s advisor in Foreign Affairs, Tengiz Pkhaladze, stressed that the meeting is of big importance as the Georgian-Belarus relations have huge potential that should be used.

When it comes to political issues, Pkhaladze said that the initial topic would be the non-recognition policy.

The Georgian ministries of finance and economy have informed beforehand that a wide range of documents would be signed in order to provide in depth relationship between Belarus and Georgia.

The analysts are interested as to whether Lukashenko comes to Georgia as a president of an independent country or as a representative of the Eurasian Union.

Press Speaker of the Foreign Ministry, Davit Kereselidze, believes that the visit does not create an awkward situation with partner states, as the arrival concerns bilateral relations solely between the two states and, on the other hand, Georgia and Belarus cooperate in many formats, Eastern Partnership among them.

Analyst Vano Machavariani states that Belarus is a very important trade partner for Georgia and the Belarus President revealed his support to Georgia in a very hard period.

“Lukashenko has tried to defend Georgia’s interests before Russia,” Machavariani says.

It’s hard to know what happens behind closed doors. However, the visit consequences will reveal the aim of the visit sooner or later.