Belarus And Nato: Allies Or Adversaries?

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus has not expressed a desire to join NATO but has participated in the Individual Partnership Program since 1997. Belarus also provided refuelling and airspace support for the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan. Belarus first began to cooperate with NATO upon signing documents to participate in their Partnership for Peace Program in 1995. However, Belarus cannot join NATO because it is a member of the CSTO. Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the March 2006 presidential election in Belarus.

Belarus's relations with NATO

Belarus is not a member of NATO. However, the country has had a long-standing relationship with the organisation. Belarus has participated in NATO's Individual Partnership Program since 1997 without joining NATO. Belarus has not joined NATO because it is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization under the auspices of Russia.

The Beginning of Belarus-NATO Relations

The history of relations between Belarus and NATO began in 1992 when the country joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, which was transformed in 1997 into the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). In 1995, Belarus joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program, viewing it as a tool to strengthen cooperation in political, military, economic, scientific, and legal areas. In April 1998, Belarus opened its diplomatic mission to NATO in Brussels.

Areas of Cooperation

Belarus's cooperation with NATO has included:

• Planning and Review Process (PARP): Encouraging transparency and assisting Belarus in developing capabilities and interoperability for international peace-support operations.
• Education and Training: Belarusian personnel attended courses in NATO countries in areas such as civil preparedness, scientific cooperation, peace-support operations, language training, and military education.
• Science for Peace and Security Programme (SPS): Belarus received grants for cooperative activities focusing on telecommunications, Chernobyl-related risk assessments, and explosive material detection systems.
• Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC): The Belarusian Ministry of Emergency Situations participated in civil emergency exercises.
• Ottawa Convention: NATO contributed to Belarus's armaments elimination, with the destruction of 700,000 weapons in 2006-2007.

Tensions and Recent Developments

Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the 2006 presidential election, as Belarus began to align more closely with Russia. Relations further deteriorated due to concerns over internationally recognised political prisoners, limiting working visits.

In 2020, NATO expressed serious concern over arbitrary detentions and abductions of opposition figures during mass protests over the results of the Belarusian presidential election. In 2021, NATO strongly condemned Belarus's diversion and forced landing of a Ryanair flight, as well as the arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich and his partner Sofia Sapega. In the same year, NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Belarus, citing concerns over Belarus's role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its hybrid activities, and violations of human rights and international law.

Belarus is ready to resume pragmatic interaction with NATO on an equal and mutually respectful basis, addressing mutual security concerns.

Belarus's relations with Russia

Belarus and Russia have historically had close economic and political ties. They share a land border and constitute the supranational Union State. Both are members of various international organisations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the United Nations. Russia is Belarus's largest and most important economic and political partner, with Russia accounting for 48% of Belarus's external trade in 2009.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Belarus became an independent country. The newly formed Russian state tried to maintain control over the post-Soviet space by creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in December 1991. However, Belarus, like other republics in the CIS, started to drift away from Russia, which was attempting to stabilise its economy and build ties with the West. In the early 1990s, Russia was concerned that its involvement in Belarus would risk its relations with the West. However, as NATO began to expand eastward, Russia found itself in a difficult situation. It felt that the West was trying to isolate it, and so the importance of good relations with Belarus increased.

In the mid-1990s, Belarus seemed an ideal candidate for integration with Russia, especially with Alexander Lukashenko coming to power in 1994. In February 1995, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness and Cooperation with Belarus, declaring that the two nations had "shared a common historical experience over many centuries" which had "created the basis for signing the treaty and other documents on deeper integration of our two countries." The integration process was launched in April 1996, and the Union of Belarus and Russia was founded a year later. This culminated in the establishment of a Union State between the two nations in December 1999.

However, when Vladimir Putin took office, he expressed dissatisfaction with the status of the relationship and criticised the 1999 treaty. Putin proposed continuing unification efforts, either through a federation model or by building a union similar to the European Union. Belarus refused, and the status quo was maintained. Despite setbacks in political and economic integration, the military integration processes between the two states continued due to international developments, including the United States' military activity in the post-Soviet space and the eastern European states' shift towards the West.

In the 2010s, the relationship between the two countries was strained by trade disputes, a border dispute, and a more relaxed official attitude towards dissident voices in Belarus. In 2014, following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Lukashenko pressed for a revival of Belarusian identity, delivering a speech in Belarusian (rather than Russian) in which he stated, "We are not Russian—we are Belarusians." Despite these tensions, the two countries continued to engage in joint military drills and maintained close military relations.

In 2020, new tensions arose when Lukashenko publicly accused Putin of trying to incorporate Belarus into Russia, leading to Russia cutting economic subsidies. The relationship was further strained when 33 Russian military contractors were arrested in Minsk, and Lukashenko accused Russia of attempting to destabilise the country ahead of its presidential election. However, in 2022, Belarus permitted Russian forces to stage part of the invasion of Ukraine from its territory, and Lukashenko stated that Belarusian troops could join the invasion if needed. Belarus has also stated that Russia can bring nuclear weapons onto Belarusian soil.

Belarus's relations with Ukraine

Belarus and Ukraine have historically had a close relationship, both being Slavic nations with closely related cultures and a shared history of being part of the Kievan Rus, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. They were also both founding members of the United Nations in 1945 and are full members of the Baku Initiative and Central European Initiative.

However, in recent years, the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated significantly. In 2020, during the Belarusian protests against President Lukashenko, Ukraine recalled its ambassador to Belarus and criticised Lukashenko. In response, Belarus imposed new trade barriers on Ukrainian goods. In February 2022, Russian troops invaded Ukraine from Belarus, and Belarus has allowed the stationing of Russian troops and equipment on its territory. Lukashenko has also stated that Russian nuclear weapons will be on Belarusian soil and recognised Crimea as a de facto part of Russian territory, despite previously holding a neutral stance on the issue. In July 2024, Lukashenko described Ukraine as an "enemy" and claimed that Belarusian troops have a "high combat readiness" near the Belarus-Ukraine border.

Despite these tensions, Ukraine has not broken off diplomatic relations with Belarus, although relations remain frozen. Belarus has denied the presence of its troops in Ukraine and has expressed a willingness to resume pragmatic interaction with Ukraine on an equal and mutually respectful basis.

Belarus's relations with the EU

Belarus and the EU have had a complicated relationship since the European Economic Community recognised Belarusian independence in 1991. After Alexander Lukashenko became the leader of Belarus in 1994, the relationship between the two entities deteriorated and has remained cold and distant. The EU has condemned the Belarusian government several times for its authoritarian and anti-democratic practices, even imposing sanctions on the country.

The EU-Belarus relationship showed signs of improvement in 2008, but the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, which resulted in Lukashenko's landslide victory, led to mass demonstrations and arrests in Minsk. The EU declared that the imprisonment of opposition figures and protesters contravened human rights laws and imposed new targeted sanctions on major Belarusian officials and businesspeople.

Belarus participated in the EU's Eastern Partnership programme, and in October 2015, the EU announced it would suspend most of its sanctions against Belarus. However, in June 2021, Belarus suspended its membership in the Eastern Partnership. The EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures in response to developments in Belarus since October 2020. These measures include individual and economic sanctions, restrictions on trade, a SWIFT ban for five Belarusian banks, and a prohibition on transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus. The EU has also allocated humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable people stranded at the Belarus border.

The EU has shown an unwavering commitment to the Belarusian people since the falsification of the 2020 presidential elections and the crackdown on civilians and free society by the authorities. The EU has increased its support for the Belarusian people and civil society while imposing restrictive measures against the Lukashenko regime.

Belarus-EU relations are further complicated by Belarus's stronger ties with Russia, which emerged as an active critic and opponent of the EU after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Belarus is a part of the Belarus-Russia Union State and the European-Asian Union, a customs union that includes both countries and several other CIS members. Belarus has continuously sought to further its economic and political ties with Russia and is one of the founding members of the Union State.

Belarus's relations with the US

Interstate relations between the United States and Belarus began in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The US recognised the independence of the Republic of Belarus on 25 December 1991, and three days later, on 28 December, the two countries established diplomatic relations. The US Embassy in Minsk was officially opened on 31 January 1992, and the embassy of Belarus was opened in Washington in 1993.

However, relations have since soured due to accusations of human rights violations by the US, and counter-accusations of interference in internal affairs by Belarus. In 1996, Lukashenko responded to Western criticism of a referendum that dissolved parliament and expanded the presidency by temporarily expelling the US and EU ambassadors. In 2008, Belarus again expelled the US ambassador, along with 30 out of 35 US diplomats.

In 2004, the Belarus Democracy Act was passed by the US Congress, which the Belarusian government believes interferes with its internal affairs. Following the 2006 Belarusian presidential election, the US introduced sanctions against Belarusian individuals and companies for undermining democratic processes, committing human rights abuses, and engaging in public corruption.

In August 2015, after Lukashenko released Belarus' six remaining political prisoners, the US provided limited sanctions relief by authorising activities involving certain state-owned entities. In 2019, the two countries announced they would exchange ambassadors, and Julie Fisher, the first US Ambassador to Belarus since 2008, was confirmed by the Senate in December 2020.

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential elections, which were neither free nor fair, the US imposed additional sanctions and visa restrictions on various actors implicated in the disputed election and the related crackdown on civil society. The US has also condemned Belarus for enabling Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and for its ongoing complicity in Russia's war of aggression. In February 2022, the US suspended its embassy in Belarus.

US assistance to Belarus focuses on promoting democratic principles and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Since 1992, the US government has provided over $1 billion in foreign assistance to Belarus. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the US has provided over $2 million in COVID-related assistance.

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