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Belarus and the “end of peace” in Europe

On 31 July, the international Contact Group, which aims to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, met in Zaslavl, Belarus. It was attended by former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, Russia’s ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, some representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and Adelheid Tagliavini, the representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). […]

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Russia-NATO: No “business as usual”

On 22 July, President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian Security Council and effectively declared the demise of cooperation between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Putin covered issues linked to the crisis in Ukraine, rejected Western allegations of Russia’s de facto involvement in the downing of Flight MH17, and then turned to security challenges stemming from NATO. […]

Alexander Lukashenko
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Why does Lukashenko speak Belarusian on Independence Day?

Belarus’s Independence Day is celebrated on 3 July. On that day, 70 years ago, Minsk was liberated from the Nazi occupiers. This 3 July, President Vladimir Putin of Russia participated in Minsk’s celebration. Two days prior to that event, during a grand ceremonial meeting devoted to the national holiday, President Alexander Lukashenko delivered part of his speech in Belarusian. […]