Putin assures that Ukraine and the United States “will have to dance the Russian ‘barynya’ one way or another”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his belief that the Kremlin will impose its wishes on the United States and Ukraine in their war. Asked about US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statements that “it takes two to tango”, in reference to a hypothetical negotiation between Moscow and kyiv, Putin was direct. “Tango is of course good, but I think it is important that Ukraine does not forget the hopak (your traditional dance), or you’ll end up dancing to someone else’s tune. And besides, one way or another, everyone will have to dance the barynia (Russian folk dance) or, at best, like a Cossack,” warned the Russian leader during a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

The two leaders met in Sochi, on the Black Sea coast, during Lukashenko’s first official trip to Russia since the death of Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash, details of which have not yet been released. clarified three weeks later. The Belarusian president served as an intermediary between the Kremlin and the mercenaries during their June 23-24 mutiny, and Prigozhin agreed to lay down his arms in exchange for moving his company to Belarus and security guarantees.

This Friday’s meeting took place two days after Putin received North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the far east of the country. “It was nice to see you and Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome,” he said. the Belarusian leader. “I think we can think about cooperation between the three of us. I know that the Koreans are very interested in you and I think there will be room for Belarus given the problems that exist,” Lukashenko added.

“Korea is our neighbor, one way or another we must build good neighborly relations with our neighbors,” Putin added after the invasion of Ukraine has already lasted for more than a year and half.

Minsk, Moscow and Pyonyang are among the most sanctioned regimes in the world. Russia, punished for its invasion of Ukraine, has in fact adopted several resolutions against North Korea as a member of the UN Security Council.

The Belarusian regime has been militarily and financially dependent on the Kremlin since it saved it from the protests of its population in 2020. Due to the economic crisis caused by the sanctions, Putin tried to reassure Lukashenko about the state of his budgets for next year: “Here (the situation) is stable and reliable,” Putin assured, also promising a more detailed breakdown of his accounts in the future.