Foreign policy of Belarus

The Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Approval of the Main Directions of the Domestic and Foreign Policy of the Republic of Belarus” dated November 14, 2005, declares seven principles of its foreign policy ^[1] :

• compliance with universally recognized principles and norms of international law;
• proportionality of foreign policy goals to the political, diplomatic, economic, defense, scientific, technical, intellectual potential of the state, ensuring their implementation to strengthen the international position of the Republic of Belarus and its international authority;
• increasing the effectiveness of political, legal, foreign economic and other instruments for protecting the state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus and its national economy in the context of globalization;
• development on the basis of universally recognized principles and norms of international law of comprehensive cooperation with foreign states, international organizations, mutual accounting and respect for the interests of all members of the international community;
• voluntary entry and participation in interstate entities;
• commitment to a policy of consistent demilitarization of international relations;
• lack of territorial claims against neighboring states; non-recognition of territorial claims against the Republic of Belarus.

At the special invitation of the United Nations Conference in San Francisco, which began work on June 25, 1945, Belarus , Ukraine , Denmark and Argentina were invited to become members of the UN , thus also becoming one of the original founding members of the UN.

Belarus is a member of the following interstate entities:

• Commonwealth of Independent States
• Union State of Russia and Belarus ,
• Collective Security Treaty Organization ,
• Interpol
• Eurasian Economic Community ,
• Common Economic Space
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ,
• NATO Partnership for Peace Program,
• International Monetary Fund ,
• World Bank
• Non-Aligned Movement ,
• World Health Organization ^[2]
• International Labor Organization ^[3] .

The Republic of Belarus is an observer in the following organizations:

• Shanghai Cooperation Organization ^[4]
• Association of Caribbean States ^[5]
• Pacific Alliance ^[6]

In December 1991, independent Belarus was recognized by European states, and at first there was a steady development of relations between Belarus and the EU . In 1995, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was signed in the political, economic and commercial spheres. Belarus received significant assistance through the TACIS program and through other channels. The development of relations between Belarus and the EU was prevented, however, by some measures of the leadership of Belarus, which were perceived in the West as an infringement of democracy. The European Union refused to recognize the amendments to the 1994 Constitution of Belarus introduced in 1996 . In 1997, the Council of Ministers of the EU refused to extend the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and to support Belarus joining the Council of Europe ; bilateral relations at the ministerial level were suspended and EU technical assistance programs were frozen .

Belarus has lost the status of a specially invited member in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe . This decision was caused by the fact that PACE recognized the elections held in Belarus in 1997 as undemocratic, and pressure on the opposition as illegal .

In 1998, an incident occurred in Drozdy when diplomatic missions were evicted from their residences, which also played a role in worsening relations with Europe. .

In March 2005, the European Union announced its intention to directly finance the "formation of civil society" in Belarus. On March 10, the European Parliament called for "condemning the existing Belarusian regime as a dictatorship." The resolution of the European Parliament proposed identifying and freezing the personal assets of President Alexander Lukashenko and senior government officials, as well as expanding the list of representatives of the Belarusian authorities who are denied entry to European countries. The decision of the European Parliament envisaged the creation of television and radio stations for broadcasting to Belarus; in the same year, European Radio for Belarus began broadcasting .

This resolution was similar to the documents adopted by the US authorities in 2004, however, it could have caused Belarus more serious damage, as its largest trading partners are among European countries.

At a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( PACE ) on January 26, 2006, a resolution was passed condemning the situation in Belarus on the eve of the presidential election ^[7] . Despite the active support of the Russian delegation, Belarus again did not receive the status of specially invited to the Council of Europe (which it was stripped of in 1997), because the four conditions of the Council of Europe were not fulfilled - the expansion of the powers of parliament, the introduction of the institution of an ombudsman, the revision of the Electoral Code Press Act.

PACE called for introducing an international isolation regime against Belarus - not to grant visas to high-ranking Belarusian government officials and at the same time to facilitate the issuance of visas to ordinary citizens. It was also proposed to freeze all bank accounts and other financial assets of President Alexander Lukashenko and his entourage.

On February 26, 2006, on the eve of the presidential election , independent European television and radio stations funded from the EU budget and, accordingly, not controlled by local authorities, began work on the territory of Belarus. In addition, the independent Russian television channel RTVi received a European grant to prepare for the Belarusian audience a daily 30-minute political broadcast. All programs are in Russian and Belarusian.

The European Union has allocated about $ 2 million for independent broadcasting in Belarus ^[8] . Programs funded by the European Union should have been aired after the March 19 presidential election.

In 2009, Belarus became a member of the EU Eastern Partnership project, and PACE supported the return to the Belarusian parliament of special guest status, subject to a moratorium on the death penalty ^[9] . In 2009, the Council of Europe Information Point was opened in Minsk on the basis of the Belarusian State University . The activity of the information point was supposed to contribute to the development of interaction between Belarus and the Council of Europe, as well as to raise awareness among state bodies, public organizations, the media, universities and citizens of Belarus about the fundamental values, legal instruments, achievements, policies and activities of the Council of Europe. In 2010, PACE withdrew its 2009 recommendation and decided to suspend its high-level contacts with Belarus. ^[10]

The expansion of contacts with the European Union allowed the Belarusian leadership to organize a series of meetings with European leaders. So, in April 2009, Minsk was visited by the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, the EU Presidency Karel Schwarzenberg ^[11] , and soon the President of Belarus visited Italy , where he met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ^[12] and Pope Benedict XVI .

Belarus and the European Union

The relationship was originally created after the European Union recognized the independence of Belarus in 1991. After Alexander Lukashenko came to power in 1994, relations between Minsk and the EU deteriorated and remained cold and distant. Relations began to improve since October 2008.

Although the European Union and Belarus signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in 1995, which was intended to regulate mutual political and economic relations, this agreement was not ratified by the EU. In addition, the European Union excluded Belarus from its European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), which was originally designed to create a “ring of friends” in the geographic proximity of the Union. Brussels argued that this exception would be a direct response to the creation of an authoritarian regime led by President Lukashenko. Belarus is one of the few states in Europe that did not request accession to the EU. In addition, Minsk did not offer EU membership. Belarus sought to constantly distance itself from its economic and political ties with Russia, however, being one of the founding members of the Union State (formerly the “Union State of Russia and Belarus”).

But after the (falsified, according to the EU) elections of December 19, 2010, relations between Belarus and the EU practically froze.

Throughout 2011, the EU repeatedly called on the Belarusian authorities to release convicts in the December 19 case and rehabilitate them.

In addition, in 2011 the European Union expanded the list of people who are prohibited from entering the EU countries. These included not only officials, representatives of law enforcement agencies and judges, but also businessmen (in particular, one of the richest people in Belarus, Vladimir Peftiev ). After another expansion of this list in February 2012, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry recalled its representatives from the EU and Poland, and also recommended that the representatives of official Warsaw and Brussels go to their countries to convey the position of the Belarusian side on the inadmissibility of sanctions against the Republic of Belarus. In response to this, by prior agreement, the ambassadors of all 27 EU countries were recalled. In March 2012, the EU tightened sanctions against a number of individuals and legal entities of the Republic of Belarus ^[13] .

However, these sanctions did not bring significant results and in February 2016 were canceled ^[14] .

Belarus and Germany

Belarus and Italy

Belarus and Poland

Relations between Belarus and Poland in 2005 after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and taking into account the role played by Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski , worsened.

In May 2005, Belarus accused one of the Polish diplomats of "active actions aimed at destabilizing Belarusian society." In response, Poland prepared a list of Belarusian officials who would be denied entry into Poland. ^[fifteen]

The cause of the conflict was the public association " Union of Poles of Belarus " (SPB), uniting about 20 thousand people. In March 2005, at the St. Petersburg Congress, his former leader, loyal to the leadership of Belarus, was ousted, after which the Union of Poles of Belarus was subjected to massive pressure from the authorities, who accused the leadership of Poland, which financed the St. Petersburg Congress, and the embassy of this country of "subversive activities" against Belarus. The Ministry of Justice of Belarus refused to approve the results of the St. Petersburg Congress, which elected Angelica Borys as its chairman. The Polish Sejm expressed its dissatisfaction with the actions of the Belarusian authorities, which was perceived in Belarus as an attempt to intervene in its internal affairs . Further developments led to a diplomatic conflict.

On July 22, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry stated that “the actions taken by ... the Polish side indicate Poland’s deliberate implementation of the line aimed at curtailing Belarusian-Polish relations ... such a line of the Polish side indicates either its distorted understanding of its role as a new EU member, or its non-independence foreign policy. "

On the same day, it became known about the closure of the Belarusian representative office of the Polish Scientific Foundation "Dialogue".

In August 2005, pensioner Jozef Lučnik was elected as the new chairman of the Belarusian Union of Poles at the insistence of the Belarusian government. Many activists of the Union of Poles were subjected to administrative arrests on charges of participating in unauthorized protests. The situation with the “Union of Poles of Belarus” has become one of the reasons for the Belarusian-Polish diplomatic conflict. Within a few months, the parties sent three diplomats each, and Poland even recalled its ambassador to Belarus for consultations.

11 декабря 2005 года советнику польского премьер-министра Михалу Дворчыку, занимающемуся вопросами связей с соотечественниками за рубежом, было отказано во въезде в Белоруссию. Белорусские пограничники сообщили Дворчыку, что он является лицом, нежелательным в Белоруссии.

Очередной шпионский скандал с польскими дипломатами произошёл в преддверии регистрации кандидатов в президенты Белоруссии и начала агитационной кампании.

7 февраля 2006 года в ежедневной программе Белорусского государственного телевидения «Комментарий дня» некий сотрудник управления контрразведки КГБ обвинил посольство Польши в Белоруссии в том, что здесь длительное время действует резидентура польских спецслужб, которая, используя дипломатический иммунитет, осуществляет легальную разведку, проводит сбор информации о ситуации в организациях этнических поляков, подготавливает источники влияния и проводит иные действия, направленные на вмешательство во внутренние дела Республики Белар усь. ^[16]

Выступивший здесь же начальник центра информации и общественных связей КГБ Республики Беларусь Валерий Надточаев связал активизацию «представителей иностранных спецслужб, работников диппредставительств и сотрудников различных иностранных неправительственных организаций и фондов» с приближающимися президентскими выборами. ^[17]

По официальным данным, в Белоруссии проживает около 295 тыс. этнических поляков — это второе по численности национальное меньшинство Белоруссии после русских. « Союз поляков Белоруссии » осуществляет культурные и образовательные программы, которые финансируются Польшей. В его ведении, в частности, находятся две польские школы.

Польша входит в состав рабочей группы для координации действий в отношении Белоруссии, создание которой было согласовано премьер-министрами Польши, Литвы , Латвии и Украины (подробнее см. Внешняя политика Белоруссии#Белоруссия и Литва )

Белоруссия и Литва

Руководство Литвы оказывает заметную поддержку белорусским оппозиционным силам. Здесь действует Европейский гуманитарный университет , перебазировавшийся на территорию Литвы в июле 2004 года и получивший официальную регистрацию 15 февраля 2005 года. Именно в Вильнюсе весной 2005 была организована встреча белорусских оппозиционеров с госсекретарём США Кондолизой Райс , в ходе которой она заявила, что режим Лукашенко — «последняя диктатура Европы».

Литва входит в состав рабочей группы для координации действий в отношении Белоруссии, создание которой было согласовано премьер-министрами Польши, Литвы, Латвии и Украины. В Литве проводятся курсы для белорусских оппозиционеров по оказанию ненасильственного сопротивления — массовых акций, пикетов и митингов. Здесь же часто проводятся различные семинары и митинги, также с территории Литвы вещает радиостанция с «независимой радиопрограммой на белорусском языке». Белорусские власти остро реагируют на подобные проявления недружественности.

В конце 2005 года руководство белорусского КГБ заявило, что им обнаружены на территории Литвы базы белорусских оппозиционеров, якобы готовящихся выступить против властей в период предстоящих президентских выборов, однако никаких доказательств представлено не было.

25 ноября 2005 претендент на пост президента Белоруссии от оппозиции Александр Милинкевич встретился с президентом Литвы Валдасом Адамкусом в Вильнюсе.

Ещё одной острой темой в отношениях двух государств является намерение Литвы создать могильник для ядерных отходов остановленной Игналинской АЭС в 700 метрах от белорусской границы. В случае принятия такого решения, могильник будет расположен в непосредственной близости от белорусского Национального парка « Браславские озера » ^[18] . Белорусская сторона неоднократно заявляла, что выступает против такого строительства, поскольку данный регион является туристическим, а в развитие его инфраструктуры вкладываются значительные материальные средства ^[19] . Литовская же сторона утверждала, что это никак не затронет интересы Белоруссии, и даже председатель Общественной организации «Литовское движение зелёных» Римантас Бразюлис в интервью БелаПАН заявил, что не считает опасным строительство могильника для захоронения короткоживущих мало— и среднеактивных радиоактивных отходов ^[20] . По состоянию на декабрь 2005 окончательное решение по вопросу строительства могильника не принято, идут активные консультации сторон.

Белоруссия и Латвия

В конце ноября 2005 года латвийское издание «Вести сегодня» сообщило, что посол Латвии в Белоруссии Майра Мора, выступая на заседании комиссии по иностранным делам сейма Латвии 23 ноября, заявила: «…Лукашенко сидит на бомбе с горящим запалом: ведь он не дал приватизировать предприятия ни одному российскому олигарху. Белоруссия крала российские газ и нефть, Россия вообще перекрыла кран, но почему сейчас она этого не делает? Потому что по периферии России прошли потрясения, а господин Лукашенко как пугало в саду, которое отпугивает Запад». «Надо быть готовыми к длительному существованию этого режима рядом с нами». Тем не менее, посол призвала латвийских депутатов «продолжать любую помощь оппозиции» ( [1] ).

В адрес МИД Латвии посольством Белоруссии была направлена нота с требованием разъяснений, а в комиссию по иностранным делам сейма — письмо с просьбой о предоставлении стенограммы дискуссии.

Посол Латвии была отозвана в Ригу для консультаций, а МИД Белоруссии заявил, что ожидает дополнительных разъяснений латвийской стороны после возвращения посла в Минск. 29 ноября по инициативе латвийской стороны в Минске состоялась встреча посла Латвии с представителем белорусского МИД, на которой Майра Мора отрицала, что во время заседания комиссии она высказывала критику в адрес Республики Беларусь и её президента.

Латвия входит в состав рабочей группы для координации действий в отношении Белоруссии, создание которой было согласовано премьер-министрами Польши, Литвы, Латвии и Украины (подробнее см. Внешняя политика Белоруссии#Белоруссия и Литва )

3 августа 2006 года Латвия отозвала из Белоруссии посла Майру Мору для консультаций после того, как 2 августа латвийский МИД «за действия, несовместимые со статусом дипломата» объявил персоной нон грата первого секретаря посольства Белоруссии в Риге Дмитрия Краюшкина, предписав ему в течение суток покинуть территорию страны.

Дипломатический конфликт начался 25 июля, когда белорусская милиция провела обыск в квартире второго секретаря посольства Латвии в Минске Реймо Шмитса, обвинив его в гомосексуализме и распространении порнографии . Латвия обвинила Белоруссию в нарушении Венской конвенции 1961 года, гарантирующей неприкосновенность дипломатов и их жилья, и потребовала объяснений, после чего 30 июля по белорусскому телевидению была продемонстрирована видеозапись полового сношения между двумя мужчинами, якобы сделанная скрытой камерой в квартире дипломата. Как заявили представители ГУВД Минска, на момент обыска правоохранительным органам не было известно, что хозяин квартиры обладал дипломатической неприкосновенностью .

МИД Латвии направил Белоруссии ноту протеста, в которой требовал официальных объяснений обыска в квартире дипломата. Происшедшее МИД характеризовал как «очередную провокацию в духе советского времени против латвийского государства и его дипломатов».

Отмечается, что Реймо Шмитс в посольстве Латвии отвечал за контакты с белорусскими оппозиционерами и составлял списки участников международных конференций в Риге.

Белоруссия и Дания

Белоруссия и Сербия

Белоруссия и Азербайджан

Белоруссия и Российская Федерация

Белоруссия и Украина

По заявлениям украинских и белорусских политиков, Украину и Белоруссию объединяет очень многое — история, культура, родственные связи. Белорусы и украинцы веками жили бок о бок в мире и согласии.

Президент Белоруссии Александр Лукашенко в ходе президентских выборов на Украине долгое время никак не проявлял своего отношения к основным кандидатам на пост президента. Однако он одним из первых, среди президентов пост-советского пространства, поздравил Виктора Януковича с победой, сразу же после оглашения результатов голосования, а после « оранжевой революции », утвердившей победу Виктора Ющенко , высказался с позиции подчёркнуто доброжелательного нейтралитета, прокомментировав итоги кампании следующим образом: «Я не стал бы драматизировать события. Украина выбрала проукраинского президента… Украина будет идти в правильном направлении и сохранит свои традиционные рынки — Белоруссию и Россию». По словам Лукашенко, Виктор Ющенко оставил у него впечатление «здравомыслящего и понимающего» человека по его прежней работе в Национальном банке и правительстве Украины.

В то же время события на Украине вызвали самый живой интерес у представителей белорусской оппозиции, многие из которых побывали в Киеве и приняли участие в « оранжевой революции ».

Однако Виктор Ющенко практически сразу после своей победы стал открыто заявлять о том, что «украинский опыт защиты своих прав может быть актуальным для каждой страны, где права человека растоптаны», имея в виду Белоруссию. В начале апреля Виктор Ющенко в Вашингтоне подписал совместное украинско-американское заявление «Повестка нового века для украинско-американского стратегического партнёрства», выразив готовность продвигать свободу в странах с «недемократическими режимами»: «Мы подтверждаем свою приверженность совместной работе … по поддержке продвижения свободы в таких странах, как Белоруссия и Куба».

Александр Лукашенко немедленно заявил в ответ: «Подписание соответствующего заявления — фактически вмешательство во внутренние дела суверенного государства ». По его словам, Белоруссия намерена решать свои проблемы самостоятельно. Кроме того, он напомнил о «государственном долге Украины», образовавшемся ещё в 1992 году в результате неисполнения украинскими компаниями коммерческих обязательств и, по разным оценкам, составляющем свыше 100 млн долларов.

Министерство иностранных дел Украины утверждало, что неурегулированных государственных долгов Украины перед Республикой Беларусь не существует вообще с тех пор, как в 2001 году была проведена реструктуризация государственного долга Украины перед официальными кредиторами в рамках Парижского клуба кредиторов .

The situation was aggravated by the fact that, as stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Boris Tarasyuk , the Ukrainian leadership intended to maintain close ties with the Belarusian opposition.

Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly argued that in Belarus “there is no basis for an“ orange ”or any other revolution, and“ color ”revolutions in the CIS countries are“ banditry under the guise of democracy. ”

In response, the Ukrainian civic organization Pora called for Lukashenko to be banned from entering Ukraine and revised Ukrainian-Belarusian relations, while the youth organization National Alliance entered into a cooperation agreement with the opposition Belarusian Young Front , and on April 26, 2005 its representatives took part in an opposition rally in Minsk, where five of them were detained by police and sentenced to administrative arrest from 10 to 15 days for violating public order. Attempts by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to achieve their early release were unsuccessful. The incident escalated into a diplomatic scandal. Belarus threatened to close its embassy in Kiev in connection with "a sharp aggravation of the situation around its activities."

On May 7, 2005, President Lukashenko once again called on Ukraine to deal with its own economic problems and not interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus.

On November 1, 2005, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov , speaking during a visit to the United States at the Carnegie Endowment (Washington), called Lukashenko "a talented propagandist" who "knows how to work with the masses." At the same time, the prime minister added that now he understands, “why in the 30s German women shouted:“ I want a child from the Fuhrer! “”.

Alexander Lukashenko did not comment on the statements of the Ukrainian Prime Minister, however, the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Belarus asked the Ukrainian side to clarify whether there was such a statement by the Prime Minister of Ukraine and what he had in mind. A few days later, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk said that the words of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov about the president of Belarus were misinterpreted by the media. According to the official position of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the widespread reports about comparing Lukashenko and Hitler in Yekhanurov’s speech are “an arbitrary interpretation of the media”.

Ukraine was part of a working group to coordinate actions in relation to Belarus, the creation of which was agreed by the Prime Ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine (for more details see Belarus Foreign Policy # Belarus and Lithuania ). However, ironically, already in 2014 it was in Belarus that negotiations began to resolve the conflict in Ukraine ^[21] .

In 2013, the border was delimited between the two countries .

Belarus and Georgia

Belarus and Kazakhstan

Belarus and Turkmenistan

Belarus occupies a favorable geopolitical position in Eastern Europe; therefore, it is constantly in the field of close attention of leading world political forces. The country's leadership is under constant pressure from the United States , the European Union and the OSCE . The main goal is to achieve a change in the domestic policy of Belarus and the removal of President Lukashenko .

The first US attempts to change the leadership of Belarus date back to around 2000, when an experienced diplomat Michael Kozak was appointed as the US ambassador to Belarus. He tried to unite the conflicting Belarusian opposition and persuaded her to nominate a single candidate in the presidential election.

However, in the fall of 2001, opposition candidate Vladimir Goncharik failed to defeat Lukashenko.

In August 2004, the United States announced its intention to seek the removal from power of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko . US position was outlined by Senator John McCain : “We will fight for Belarus to free itself from tyranny. The change of regime of President Lukashenko in Belarus is planned not by armed means, but by international pressure. ”

Following this statement, the US Treasury Department accused the Belarusian Infobank of money laundering of Saddam Hussein . According to the US, the bank was engaged in the legalization of the proceeds of the government of Saddam Hussein through illegal transactions concluded in violation of the UN program " Oil for Food ." The Bank and its subsidiaries, in particular Belmetalenergo, were also used to purchase weapons and finance the training of the Iraqi armed forces.

On October 6, 2004, the US House of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of imposing economic sanctions on Belarus and its president personally.

The “Act on Democracy in Belarus” adopted by Congress contained a long list of demands on Alexander Lukashenko:

• to release detained persons imprisoned for political or religious beliefs;
• withdraw politically motivated charges against opposition members and independent journalists;
• provide a comprehensive explanation of the disappearances of opposition figures and journalists;
• stop repressions against independent media, independent trade unions, non-governmental and religious organizations, and the opposition;
• to hold free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections in Belarus in accordance with OSCE standards.

Until these requirements were met, the US administration was forbidden to provide Belarus with any loans, credit guarantees, insurance payments, financing and any other financial assistance, and US representatives in the IMF , World Bank and other international organizations were instructed to vote against providing any assistance to Belarus .

Congressmen suggested that other states, primarily European ones, be included in sanctions against Belarus.

The Democracy Act demanded that the US president send a special report to Congress on arms and military technology supplies from Belarus to countries that support international terrorism no later than 90 days after the bill came into force.

The report should also indicate the size of the personal condition and evaluate the property owned by President Lukashenko and other Belarusian leaders.

On October 21, George W. Bush signed the Belarus Democracy Act. Thus, economic sanctions against Belarus officially entered into force. The signing of the law confirmed that the United States intends to seriously seek the removal of Alexander Lukashenko from power.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that the American act violates the UN Declaration on the Prevention of Intervention and Intervention in the Internal Affairs of States . Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the imposition of sanctions, emphasizing the lack of a consolidated position of the UN Security Council.

Representatives of the Government of Belarus said that sanctions do not scare them, since the United States accounts for only about 3% of Belarus' exports.

Observers noted that the US’s political measures against the leadership of Belarus are similar to their actions against the former leaders of Yugoslavia , Afghanistan , and Iraq . It was also noted that these measures could be lobbied by the US military-industrial complex and the Polish authorities, which in this regard counts on more substantial US assistance and, in particular, relocation of part of the American troops from Germany to its territory.

On December 13, 2006, US representative William Bransik raised the issue of the human rights situation in Belarus during a closed meeting in the UN Security Council. On the same day, the US Senate supported the bill, which called on the US president to impose additional sanctions against Belarus.

On December 19, 2006, the US ambassador to Minsk, Karen Stewart, made a statement saying that the United States would not recognize the results of the referendum on the creation of a single state of Russia and Belarus. This statement was made in response to the words of the Secretary of State of the Union State of Russia and Belarus Pavel Borodin , who spoke in favor of holding a referendum on the unification of the two countries and added that 2007 will be "decisive in the construction of a single state."

According to the American ambassador, the proposed referendum would be undemocratic: "Given the current situation in Belarus, no referendum can be held in such a way as to convince us that it is a free expression of the will of the Belarusian people."

On January 12, 2007, George W. Bush signed into law a two-year extension of sanctions against Belarus under the 2004 Act on Democracy in Belarus. The law, in particular, authorized the allocation of material resources to opposition Belarusian politicians and independent media. In 2007, it was planned to allocate $ 27.5 million from the US budget for these purposes.

Belarus actively cooperates with the countries of the Muslim world. Students of these countries study at Belarusian universities. In the economic sphere, military-technical cooperation prevails. In addition, Belarus condemned the military intervention of NATO countries in Iraq and Libya, as well as the imposition of sanctions against Syria.

Belarus and Brazil

Belarus and Argentina

Belarus and Cuba

Belarus and Venezuela

Belarus and Chile

The main trading partner of Belarus in Latin America is Brazil. The trade turnover of the two countries in 2008 amounted to 1228.9 million dollars. The volume of Belarusian trade with other countries of the region is much smaller and in 2008 amounted to: $ 173.1 million with Venezuela , $ 141.4 million with Argentina , $ 84.8 million with Colombia , $ 69.0 million with Ecuador , with Cuba - $ 49.7 million, from Chile - $ 13.0 million ^[22] . The main Belarusian goods delivered to the countries of the region are fertilizers (their deliveries dominated in 2008 in Belarusian exports to Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia) ^[22] .

Joint ventures have been set up in Venezuela. Cadets from this country are studying at the Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus ^[23] .

Belarus is purchasing sugar and tobacco from Cuba. Belarus condemns the isolation of Cuba by the international community.

Recently, joint investment projects are being carried out with Bolivia and Brazil.

On April 22, 2005, participants in the GUUAM summit also announced their intention to develop democracy in Belarus .

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili expressed regret that Belarus has “no democracy and freedom”, and stressed that the Belarusian people “have the right to free choice” and European development.

The President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus made a harsh statement: “President Lukashenko is moving faster and faster towards autocracy , self-isolation of both the state and the Belarusian people.”

Russia , which was not invited to the summit, sharply reacted to Saakashvili’s statement. “Let Saakashvili not imagine himself to be the messiah,” said Nikolai Ryabov, Russia's ambassador to Moldova, advising Saakashvili to “leave Belarus alone” and take up the settlement of problems in his country.

Belarus does not recognize the independence of the Republic of Abkhazia , the Republic of China , Western Sahara , Kosovo ^{[24] [25]} , the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , South Ossetia , the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic .

Despite assurances made in August 2008 in support of the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia ^[26] , Alexander Lukashenko instructed the House of Representatives of the National Assembly to consider the issue of their recognition ^[27] , however, the House of Representatives first postponed consideration of the issue until spring ^[28] but in the spring it was not included in the agenda of deputies ^[29] , and was not considered during the spring session ^[30] . On July 22, 2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus recommended that citizens of the Republic of Belarus be guided by Georgian legislation when visiting Abkhazia and South Ossetia ^[31] .

• Relations between Belarus and the USA in 2004
• Minsk # International Relations