Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 21, 2020

Konstantin Eggert, DW: Putin wants Belarus in Moscow's orbit — with or without Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin may not send tanks to Belarus. But he will strive to bail out its embattled leader Alexander Lukashenko — on Moscow's terms, writes Konstantin Eggert.

While EU leaders held a special summit on the situation in Belarus and refused to recognize the election result, Alexander Lukashenko suddenly sprung into action.

Now that the EU has denied him legitimacy, he is free to behave as he likes. There is no more need for him to pretend that the voice of Brussels matters. At the meeting of his security council, he demanded that police "suppress" opposition rallies in the capital Minsk — "disturbances" as he called them.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 21, 2020

What's happening in Belarus? -- BBC

Lukashenko’s Ceauşescu Moment? -- Sławomir Sierakowski, Project Syndicate

West holding back on criticism of Russia over Navalny 'poisoning' -- Emma Graham-Harrison, The Guardian

The Suspected Poisoning of Alexey Navalny, Putin’s Most Prominent Adversary -- Masha Gessen, NYPost

Putin's love of poison — a messy and uncertain weapon for assassins — reflects his need for proven uncertainty -- Mitch Prothero, Business Insider

Time to Rethink U.S. Policy Toward Putin’s Russia? -- Zack Cooper, Melanie Marlowe, and Christopher Preble, War On The Rocks

Beijing Will Come to Regret the End of Hong Kong’s Autonomy -- Howard W. French, WPR

The coup in Mali is an ominous sign for Francophone west Africa -- Rahmane Idrissa, The Guardian

Mali’s Military Ousts a Wayward Government -- Judd Devermont, CSIS

Mali’s Coup Needs a West African Solution -- Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg

Can Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi stay the course? -- Tom Allinson, DW

Have Arab nations forgotten about Palestine by accepting Israel? -- Stephen Daisley, The Spectator

Goodbye — Sort of — to Germany? -- Victor Davis Hanson, National Review

Trudeau's autocratic proclivities a clear and present danger to Canadian democracy -- Diane Francis, Calgary Herald

America’s New Debt Bomb -- Todd G. Buchholz, Project Syndicate

DNC 2020: Did Joe Biden succeed in making his case? -- Anthony Zurcher, BBC