Why Europe's Policy Fails in Belarus
Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.
On Friday, Belarusian Foreign Ministry declared that it would not prolong the residence permit for the Swedish ambassador Stefan Ericsson. It caused predictable sharp reaction of Sweden and the European Union.
It also put an end to speculations that participation of the Belarusian foreign minister Siarhiej Martynau in the Eastern Partnership foreign ministers meeting in Brussels last week meant that Minsk wished to improve relations with the European Union.
Belarus for many years played for the EU the role of a local bad guy who needed to be demonstratively punished for breaking rules of coexistence in democratic Europe. But in addition to the impulsive character of the Belarusian ruler, a number of objective factors diminish importance of the EU for Belarus.
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