Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is usually the one thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin or asking him for a favor — be it a loan, cheap gas, help in navigating protests or tactical nuclear weapons. This time, the shoe is on the other foot.
While the full extent of Lukashenko's role in defusing an armed mutiny on Saturday by Wagner mercenaries aimed at toppling Russia's military leadership remains unclear, the Belarusian leader — derided by Russian officials for years as a useful but volatile and demanding partner — is now being feted in Russia.
It was Lukashenko, according to his own narrative and Putin, who played a major role in ending a mutiny that threatened to destabilize the world's largest nuclear power.