About: Alexander Lukashenko

US backs UN push to get Ukraine grain back to global market
The United States supports efforts by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to get Ukrainian grain back into the international marketplace amid the war, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday (16 May).
Belarus opposition calls for tougher sanctions against ‘co-aggressor’ Lukashenko
A leading exiled Belarusian opposition figure on Wednesday (23 March) urged the West to strengthen sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko and his regime for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuania says migrant numbers from Belarus could soon increase
Lithuanian Interior Ministry said Belarus authorities have ordered migrants to be cleared from a warehouse near the Polish border and from Minsk, which could lead to renewed attempts to push the migrants in large numbers into the European Union.
EU tries to salvage Eastern Partnership ties under Russian threat
EU leaders will try to rescue their outreach to five former Soviet republics of eastern Europe on Wednesday (15 December), all of them would-be partners undermined by Russian meddling and regional strife.
Too many loopholes left in Belarus sanctions regime, says Tsikhanouskaya
Western sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko's regime need to be better coordinated to fill the currently existing loopholes, Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya told EURACTIV ahead of a crucial Eastern Partnership summit this week.
Lithuania Railways CEO to resign over Belarus potash transport
The head of Lithuania's state-run railways, Mantas Bartuska, agreed on Tuesday (14 December) to step down to "de-escalate" public outcry over the transport of potash from sanctions-hit Belarus, but the company said it could not stop facilitating it for now.
Belarus opposition leader Tsikhanouski jailed for 18 years
A court in Belarus on Tuesday (14 December) sentenced opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski to 18 years in prison after he galvanised an unprecedented protest movement against strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko last year, state media said.
Lukashenko: ‘I talk to Putin about Serbia almost every time we speak’
Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko says that he discusses the Balkans, and in particular Serbia, at most meetings with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US, allies ratchet up the economic pressure against Belarus
The United States and its allies, including the European Union, on Thursday (2 December) imposed sanctions against dozens of individuals and entities in Belarus in a coordinated move to escalate punitive action against President Alexander Lukashenko and his government.
EU members agree more sanctions against Belarus targets
EU diplomats agreed Wednesday (1 December) to add 28 individuals and bodies to its Belarus sanctions list in response to the alleged channelling of migrants to the bloc's borders.
One Belarus border camp cleared as Iraqis fly home
A makeshift migrant camp on Belarus' border with Poland has been cleared, Minsk said Thursday (18 November), as hundreds of Iraqis who failed to make the crossing to enter the European Union returned home.
In wrinkle to Merkel, Morawiecki warns against direct talks with Lukashenko
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Thursday (18 November) cautioned against holding direct talks with Belarus on the unprecedented migrant crisis along Poland's border, saying it would "legitimise" the regime.
Belarus and EU to hold talks on migrant crisis
Belarus said Wednesday (17 November) that President Alexander Lukashenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed in a telephone call that Minsk and the EU should discuss the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border.
In rare phone call, Merkel and Lukashenko discuss help for refugees
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko held a phone call on Monday (15 November) to discuss humanitarian aid for refugees and migrants stranded at the EU-Belarus border, a German government spokesperson said.
Iraq to start repatriating citizens from Belarus on ‘voluntary’ basis
The Iraqi government said it was organising a repatriation flight this Thursday (18 November) for its citizens stuck on the Poland-Belarus border on a "voluntary" basis.
Lukashenko ‘bluffing’ on EU gas threat: Belarus opposition leader
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Thursday (11 November) said strongman Alexander Lukashenko would not follow through on threats to cut off gas supplies to Europe over an escalating conflict with the EU.
Russia, West trade barbs at UN over Belarus migrant crisis
Russia traded barbs with Western members of the UN Security Council on Thursday (11 November) over a crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, with Russia's deputy UN envoy suggesting his European colleagues have "masochist inclinations."
Neighbours of Belarus say migrant crisis risks military clash
Countries bordering Belarus expressed concern on Thursday (11 November) that a crisis over growing numbers of migrants trying to break through its frontiers into the European Union could escalate into a military confrontation. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia condemned “the deliberate...
Michel, von der Leyen on diplomatic offensive as crisis mounts on Belarus-Poland border
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen met on Wednesday (10 November) with US President Joe Biden while Council President Charles Michel was on Poland to express “full solidarity” with the country suffering a hybrid attack from Belarus.
Russia blames EU for looming migrant ‘catastrophe’, sends bombers to fly over Belarus
Russia blamed the EU for the migrant crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, accusing it of trying to "strangle" Belarus with plans to close part of the frontier and urging it to talk directly with Minsk.
EU close to deal on new round of Belarus sanctions, diplomats say
The European Union is close to imposing more sanctions on Belarus, targeting some 30 individuals and entities including the foreign minister and Belarusian airline Belavia, with approval as early as next week, three EU diplomats said.
Lithuania declares state of emergency on border with Belarus
The Lithuanian parliament decided on Tuesday (9 November) to declare a state of emergency at its border region with Belarus, a first since the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
Polish PM accuses Putin of masterminding Belarus migrant attack
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday (9 November) accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating a wave of migrants trying to illegally enter Poland from Belarus, saying the "attack" threatens to destabilise the European Union.