DISINFO: The US, Poland and Lithuania are organising a coup in Belarus, just as in Ukraine
SUMMARY
Initially, the US wanted to tear Belarus away from Russia by making use of the Belarusian multi-vector foreign policy. Washington planned to turn Belarus into an anti-Russian country and then establish a puppet government through a Ukraine-like coup d'etat. By contrast, Poland and Lithuania decided to attack it fiercely and organise a coup d'etat from the beginning. Once the Belarusian authorities successfully cracked down on riots, the US changed tactics and followed the Polish path. At present, the US uses wide-scale sanctions to get ready for a coup d'etat in Belarus.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the West's anti-Russian actions and Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus.
There is no basis for the claims that the US, Poland or Lithuania are trying to organise a coup d'etat in Belarus. The pro-Kremlin media frequently use disinformation narratives about popular protests allegedly incited and run by the West, including, what they refer to as “colour revolutions” in post-Soviet states, the “Arab Spring”, Euromaidan in Ukraine, protests in Catalonia and the latest protests in Russia.
The protests in Belarus erupted to contest the results of the presidential election on 9 August 2020, which were not monitored by independent experts, and are largely considered fraudulent by both international observers and a big part of the Belarusian society.
The EU member states perceive the situation in Belarus in a unanimous way, appealing to the Belarusian authorities to stop violence, release political prisoners and organise democratic elections in Belarus. On 12 August 2020, the Parliaments of Poland and three Baltic States presented a joint statement protesting against political repressions taking place in Belarus and appealing to organise free and democratic elections in this country. On 19 August 2020, the European Council called Belarusian elections neither free nor fair.
See other examples of similar messages: Poland and Lithuania directly sponsor extremist actions against Belarus, Poland and Lithuania send Belarusian opposition instructions on how to make explosives and CIA, and Pentagon prepares Belarusian protestors in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states.