[JustTheNews] Worsening relations between Moscow and Minsk could turn Belarus toward West, say observers.
The changing relationship between Moscow and Minsk has left nearby Baltic nations increasingly vigilant against a Russian incursion on Belarus, foreign military officials have told Just the News.
"We have been watching for Crimea, part two," said a Lithuanian Land Forces officer, in reference to Russia’s 2014 capture of Crimea from Ukraine. "Now we are waiting."
"There are new developments," said an Estonian Defense Forces officer. "Things are getting worse."
Allied since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Belarus and Russia in 1999 signed a "union state" treaty to enhance economic ties between their two countries. Over the years, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko ‐ dubbed "Europe's last dictator" ‐ has voiced qualms about forging closer ties.
"The Russian leadership is demanding that we join the Russian Federation ‐ that's what is in the heads of the Russian leadership," Lukashenko said in 2007. "I don't want to bury the sovereignty and independence of the country."
The treaty drew scant international attention, though, until 2014, when Russia seized Crimea. Some observers then warned that Russia also would expand westward to encompass Belarus, abutting Poland and closing the distance between Russia and its exclave Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.
"That is when the two so-called friends got less friendly," the Lithuanian Land Forces officer said.... 
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