Isn’t this the same guy who wanted to rejoin with Russia?
He wanted to rejoin Russia, but with him as leader, Putin ended that.
The White Russians used to talk it up a bit back when the idea was popular. I can't believe Lukashenka ever actually wanted to give up his power and independence though.
Russia, it must be said, squandered it's popularity and any chance of a willing reunion. Russian interests - mostly Putin cronies - have conspired to capture all of Belarus's most valuable economic assets. For example, they now own all the pipelines through Belarus.