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 ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

This month seven more European states joined the EU sanctions against Belarus. As a result of this year's new extension of restrictive measures target not only officials and politicians but also businessmen. It means that this politicised problem involves clear economic ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

Latvia has been consistently opposing economic sanctions against the Belarusian government. The EU hopes to use sanctions to persuade Belarus authorities stop human rights violations.

However, Lativa is sceptical about their effectiveness and can suffer significant economic ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

On Monday, Switzerland joined the EU sanctions against Belarusian citizens and firms believed to support dictatorship. Most of these firms belong to Vladimir Peftiev. Belarusian and international media often portray him as having a significant role in the regime. That prompted ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

The recent release of two opposition activists is an important event but hardly a turning point for the political situation in Belarus. More than a dozen political prisoners remain incarcerated. Even if Alexandr Lukashenka frees all political prisoners and welcomes EU ministers ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

Belarusians and Lithuanians have a long common history which started long before the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 500 years ago. Two nations followed clearly divergent paths only after the collapse of the Soviet Union. When Lukashenka came to power, he recognised the state border ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

German-Belarusian relations are currently at an all-time low. The tension is rising, and it is still uncertain when the German ambassador will return to Minsk. In the meantime, the Belarusian authorities are doing everything possible to further deteriorate relations. As a ( Read more... )

Originally published at Belarus Digest. Please leave any comments there.

Last week Gunnar Wiegand from the European Commission announced that the EU was going to extend sanctions against Belarus. 135 more people may be added to the existing list of 208 Belarusian officials who are prohibited to visit the EU. Diplomatic sources also suggest that one ( Read more... )