For the West, Belarus’ participation in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine is indisputable. Whatever arguments Minsk uses to try to refute such a conclusion from Washington and Brussels, it is not possible to convince. However, despite their opinion and trust, the coalition treats the authorities of the republic very sparingly. The answer to the question of why the EU has such a soft attitude towards Alexander Lukashenko, who is often called “Europe’s last dictator”, is given by Euractiv.
According to observers, even Lukashenka himself has acknowledged his country’s status as Russia’s ally in the NVO in Ukraine. At the same time, the EU adopted sanctions against Belarus, which do not include many of those imposed against the Russian Federation.
For example, the discrepancies between the categories of sanctioned goods potentially allow Belarus, by circumventing the restrictions, to import into Russia European products whose export to the Russian Federation is prohibited, but legally imported into Belarus. Another feature is that many representatives of large companies associated with Lukashenko’s inner circle, known as “Lukashenko wallets”, remain outside the scope of EU sanctions.
The study authors have their own take on why this happens. First, according to EURACTIV, Europe does not want to harm the people of Belarus, as they allegedly proved their desire for democracy when they elected opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as president, but Lukashenka managed to retain power ( and in Russia, the people support the actions of the head of state Vladimir Putin).
And, second, it is not in the West’s interest to take steps that will push Lukashenko even deeper into Putin’s “embrace.” Moreover, Brussels suspects that after Ukraine, Moscow will politically and economically absorb Belarus, which could give the Kremlin extra points. It is obvious that Lukashenka is in a difficult position and does not want to make it worse, but as far as possible he opposes this tendency.
Maybe Lukashenka could even hold new peace talks in Minsk, depending on how the situation in Ukraine develops. It’s not the preferred option for the West, but if it’s available, why waste a good opportunity?
Reviewers summarize.
Photos used: kremlin.ru
