![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-europe.jpg)
Latest Articles about Belarus
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1028864352-640x346.jpg)
Moscow Pursues Stronger Military Ties With Minsk
Senior political-military officials in Moscow have recently stepped up their focus on strengthening bilateral military ties with Minsk. This is aimed at shoring up the Union State of Russia and Belarus, reflecting long-standing close military cooperation, as well as the pivotal role Minsk plays in... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Minsk-Dialogue-Forum-October-8-2019-EDM-October-21-2019-640x427.jpg)
At Second Minsk Dialogue Forum, Belarus Seeks to Redefine Its Reputation
This year’s (October 7–8) Minsk Dialogue forum, entitled, “European Security: Stepping Back from the Brink,” attracted over 700 participants from Europe, Russia, the United States, Belarus and China (Minskdialogue.by, October 10), exceeding the number of attendees at the first such gathering, held in May 2018... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Vladimir-Makei-640x396.jpg)
Belarus-Russia Integration: One More Wrangling Match
Belarus remains at the center of a geopolitically tinged maelstrom of emotions enveloping the country. And in recent weeks, that maelstrom was simultaneously fed by Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei’s latest interview with RBC as well as a telling new poll regarding Belarusian public opinion... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alyaksandr-Lukashenka-speaking-with-Ukrainian-journalists-September-26-EDM-September-30-2019-640x366.jpg)
Belarus’s President Lukashenka Talks to Ukrainian Journalists
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka conducted a press conference for Ukrainian journalists in Minsk, on September 26. Compared to Lukashenka’s more regular face-to-face contacts with the Russian media, the scale of this briefing was decidedly smaller. Whereas the 2016 press conference for Russian journalists involved 80 reporters... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Defenders-of-Friendship-2019-EDM-September-30-2019-640x427.jpg)
Egyptian Paratroopers on Russian Soil: ‘Defenders of Friendship 2019’
On August 19–29, Russia hosted the multinational exercise Defenders of Friendship 2019, which involved the joint participation of Russian and Egyptian paratroopers as well as Belarusian special forces (Mil.ru, August 16, 2018). The exercise was the fourth of its kind in four years. Its first... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/1205821-640x411.jpg)
Russia’s Union Shield Exercises—in Transition?
Amid speculation of mounting tensions in Russian-Belarusian relations (see EDM, September 9, 16), the two allies’ militaries conducted their quadrennial Union Shield (Shchit Soyuza) exercise last week (September 13–19). Along with the better-publicized West (Zapad) strategic-operational exercises (see EDM, September 20, October 6, 10, 2017),... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Vladimir-Putin-and-Alyaksandr-Lukashenka-EDM-September-23-2019-640x363.jpg)
Passions Over Integration with Russia and Elections in Belarus
While some seven or eight years ago newsworthy events pertaining to Belarus were considered rare, today they are so abundant it is difficult to choose which to focus on. Just during the last week, a lingering debate over Belarus’s integration with Russia reached a fever... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/18dt2UbHnxNNLkamebb38nAWyK7ykYs7-640x395.jpg)
Strategic Consequences of Russia’s Economic Presence in the Suez Canal Zone
Belarus recently announced plans to join the Russian Industrial Zone (RIZ) in the Suez Canal. Eventually, Minsk intends to set up its own industrial park in the Egyptian Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone); but for now, Belarus is content to cooperate with Moscow in the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Minsk-Dialogue-Initiative--640x268.jpg)
What Drives Belarus’s Rapprochement With the West?
The sudden sacking of United States National Security Advisor John Bolton just days after he returned from his high-profile visit to the Belarusian capital tempted some observers to try to draw conclusions from this incident regarding the future of Belarusian-US ties. Surely any such attempts... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/gazprommain1-640x360.jpg)
EU Court Decision Will Limit Gazprom’s Ability to Pump Gas to Europe Via Nord Stream Route
A constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom may not use 100 percent of the capacity of OPAL, an onshore, German extension to the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline. Gazprom is expected... MORE