In the past week, two notable events sparked heated debate in the Belarusian and Russian press: the dispensation to Belarus of a Russian $2 billion loan and a visit to Minsk by Michael Carpenter, the United States’ Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.
Regarding the loan, multiple analysts marveled at Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s ability to extract much-needed aid from Russia, even despite the two countries’ ongoing tensions. For example, in February–March, Belarus was accused of violating the bilateral agreement on delivering refined oil products to Russia in exchange for duty-free oil. However, in early March the …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation