Section: Belarus Digest (Belarus)
Will Russia occupy Belarus in 2017?
Redeployment of Russian military equipment by railway Recently, the Russian Ministry of Defence disclosed logistical data of railway traffic to other countries for the upcoming year. It revealed that the Kremlin is planning to significantly increase the amount of military cargo headed for Belarus. This may be a sign that Moscow is preparing to...
Belarus on the international stage: a Russian puppet or a skillful diplomat?
Belarus’s ambassador to the UN Andrei Dapkiunas. Photo: @BelarusUNNY on Twitter On 15 November, at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, the Belarusian delegation voted against a draft resolution tabled by Ukraine on the human rights situation in Crimea. This vote, along with Belarus’s failed attempt to adjourn debate on all...
Belarus neutrality, border with Russia, visa-free zones, Belarus-Poland relations – Ostrogorski Centre Digest
Part of Hrodna district is becoming visa-free In November the Ostrogorski Centre released the first major publication on neutrality in Belarusian foreign and national security policy. In their articles, analysts from The Centre discussed unresolved issues in Polish-Belarusian relations, border control policies and institutions, and the...
How Belarusian oil imports change geopolitics in Eastern Europe
On 31 October, several years after imports of non-Russian oil into Belarus ceased, the first cargo train carrying Azerbaijani oil reached a refinery in the Belarusian city of Mazyr. Although the Belarusian government has so far imported only a limited amount of alternative oil, Minsk has nevertheless demonstrated to other nations that this is...
What does a New Cold War mean for Belarus?
Sergei Shoigu and Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Photo: www.arms-expo.ru Last week’s visit by the Russian Minister of Defence clearly demonstrated the Kremlin’s intentions to undermine the image of Belarus as a country with a predictable and neutral military and foreign policy. The confrontation between NATO and Russia, as a manifestation of...
Belarus struggles to control its borders
Swamp buggy Rosa 21 supplied to Belarusian border guards through an EU-funded project. Image:iom.by On 13 October Belarusian border guards received EU-funded special equipment worth €2.5m. This will help Minsk control the Ukrainian border. There is an element of irony in this: although it works to remove borders within the EU, Brussels is helping...
Ostrogorski Centre: Belarus becomes neutral to survive
Minsk talks on the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Image: russiancouncil.ru Ostrogorski Centre releases the first major publication on neutrality in Belarusian foreign and national security policy authored by Siarhei Bohdan and Gumer Isaev. This trend towards a real neutrality of Belarus increased in the past decade. For a long time it was...
Editorial: Lukashenka’s Election Message to the West
A. Lukashenka at the polling station on 11 September 2016 Two representatives of the opposition and civil society will end up in the newly-appointed Belarusian Parliament. This reflects not the true level of support of the opposition, but rather Aleksander Lukashenka’s willingness to demonstrate good will to the European Union. The West,...
Central and Eastern European dimension of Belarusian diplomacy – Belarus Foreign Policy Digest
Alena Kupchyna and Witold Waszczykowski – Photo Michał Jasiulewicz/MFA Poland In July and August, Belarusian diplomats kept busy reinforcing ties with the country’s partners in Central and Eastern Europe. These relationships may prove to be instrumental in bolstering Belarus’s foreign policy …read more Source: Belarus...
Defence Industry, Academic Autonomy, Parliament Recognition – Ostrogorski Centre Digest
Vice-speaker of the Polish Sejm Ryszard Terlecki in the Belarusian parliament. Photo: belsat.eu Over the past month, analysts at the Ostrogorski Centre have discussed the rise of the Belarusian defence industry, the increase in dialogue between European and Belarusian parliamentarians, and prospects of real student self-government in Belarusian...
