BSR Policy Briefing 4/2023

Iron curtain on Belarus' western border: Does the crisis in Minsk's relations with its Baltic neighbors threaten Belarusian independence?
By Kamil Kłysiński

The purpose of the article is to present the importance of cooperation with the countries of the Baltic Sea region for the independence of Belarus, and due to the particularly active policy in the Belarusian direction and the immediate neighborhood, the study primarily considers three countries: Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Estonia was also mentioned, which, however, due to the lack of a common border with Belarus, did not play such an important role in strengthening Minsk economically and politically, on the international arena. The role of Russia, a country also located on the Baltic Sea, was presented in a completely different light. Moscow, despite its allied relations with Minsk, invariably remains a threat to Belarusian statehood, and the strength of Russian pressure increases with the weakening or complete absence (as is currently the case) of dialogue behind its Western neighbors in the EU and NATO.

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