Belarus is not completely 100% behind Moscow on everything even though Moscow is very important to Belarus. Belarus enjoys occasional high-level disputes with Russia over prices on core imported natural resources such as oil and gas, Due to this, Belarus aims to develop better relations with countries in other regions like Middle East, Asia, and Latin America to keep safe.
Both countries have had their shares of arguments and different views. Over the years, Belarus has actively participated in an event which Moscow sees as anti-Russia.
It would be foolish, however, to expect Minsk to endorse a language that would openly condemn its closest ally and sponsor. In fact, Minsk failed to prevent the inclusion of a rephrased reference to the illegal annexation of Crimea in the summit’s declaration, though it could easily sabotage its joint adoption.
The very fact of Belarus’ participation in an event, which a senior Russian diplomat called “negative”, and its continued status as an EU partner at a time of very strained relations between Russia and Europe is very telling when one considers Belarus’ true intentions. This is also true of Lukashenka’s recent visit to Georgia, a country that has severed its diplomatic ties with Russia.
The summit’s joint declaration highlights participating countries’ appreciation of “the contribution of Belarus in facilitating negotiations” in the Ukraine crisis and welcomes “the steps taken in EU-Belarus relations”. It also welcomes Belarus’ accession to the Bologna Process and its initiative on a digital economy.
