Lukashenka's Default: International Contacts Are Minimized

The foreign policy of the regime has been brought to the point of complete absurdity.

“It's a diplomatic incident,” political scientist Valery Karbalevich assesses this situation with the foreign policy of Belarus, writes Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

“Western countries have their diplomatic missions in Belarus but do not recognize the legitimacy of the authorities that run the country. The situation is quite rare. It develops when dramatic events take place in some country, which are very negatively perceived by the international community,” the expert writes about this in his Telegram channel. This limits the rights of diplomats, they cannot fully fulfill their duties, as Karbalevich notes.

The local community reacted sarcastically to such diplomatic incidents, and Lukashenka's political opponents announced the collapse of Belarus' foreign policy. “Today we can observe how the foreign policy of Belarus has been brought to complete absurdity and looks more like a farce than diplomatic relations,” said former diplomat Pavel Latushka.

He noted that the export of goods decreased by 37% compared to 2012; during the same period, the volume of foreign investments in the real sector of the economy decreased by $ 5.5 billion, the number of career diplomats in the ministry was halved, the third wave of dismissals is coming, the country's reputation in the eyes of international partners is destroyed, and its independence and sovereignty are under threat. Interestingly, Latushkao puts the blame for this on Makei, who values the well-being of the country much less than his desire to remain in power.

However, experts are not inclined to overestimate the role of individuals in Belarusian history since the policy in the country is determined by one person - Lukashenka. His actions led to the actual default of the country's foreign policy. “Foreign policy subjectivity has not yet been lost, but it has sharply declined, and relations with Russia are today the dominant feature of foreign policy. The rest of foreign economic contacts are more for PR. It's more like psychotherapy: they say, look, there are still states that recognize me as president. The very fact that this has to be proven speaks volumes. I don't think China can become a serious partner because it is interested in good relations between Belarus and the EU. I think that now China's interest in investing in Belarus has dropped,” Karbalevich commented on the situation in foreign policy.

The expert does not see any positive shifts in the regime's relations with the West. “I have the impression that normalization of relations is impossible within the framework of the existing political regime,” he said. “I see the process of burning bridges, not building them."