Do tensions between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko give the West a chance to bring Belarus into the democratic camp?
Democratizing Europe’s last dictatorship will curb the Kremlin’s aggression in its periphery and encourage democratic forces within Russia, writes Jeffrey Gedmin, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
As economic crisis threatens to fray the social pact underpinning Alexander Lukashenko’s hard-line regime and economic relations with Russia strained, the democratic West should eschew short-term realpolitik and ramp up the pressure:
Belarus must be pressured to have more independent media, to investigate the cases of missing dissidents, and to end the practice of jailing oppositionists. For its part, the EU should insist that any economic assistance be closely tied to political reforms and respect for human rights.
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