DISINFO: The EU is trying to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations
SUMMARY
The EU pursues a number of goals in its relations with Belarus. Firstly, torpedoing the Union State of Belarus and Russia which guarantees Belarus’ security and independence. The EU needed the talks about Partnership Priorities with Belarus for one reason only, to make Belarus deny the union with Russia. This would mean the end of Belarus as a sovereign country. The Council of the EU also endorsed the Visa facilitation agreement between Belarus and the EU in order to counteract Belarus-Russia integration. Second, the EU realised well that torpedoing the Union State of Belarus and Russia presents a chance to change domestic policies and topple Alexander Lukashenko. EU bureaucracy sees him as the main barrier to passing power to its puppet, as done earlier with Ukraine. Later, the EU announced that the signing of the Partnership Priorities is conditioned to the resolution of the row between Belarus and Lithuania over the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. If it continues this way, the EU may soon announce that the barrier for signing the document is Alexander Lukashenko or even Belarus itself. If the Polish eastern boundaries (“kresy”) or some Lithuanian duchy was in the place of Belarus, then surely no issues would arise with the signing of the Partnership Priorities
RESPONSE
This is conspiracy theory consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus, to disrupt Belarusian-Russian relations in general and the development of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, in particular. Over the past two years, there has been some positive progress in EU-Belarus relations. Belarus has been participating more proactively in the Eastern Partnership, particularly in the multilateral formats, while negotiations on a Mobility Partnership were concluded and Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements are expected to come into force in June 2019. Minsk started the negotiations over visa facilitation and readmission agreements in 2014, later than other EaP countries. The two sides signed the agreements on 8th June 2020 once the negotiating process and domestic procedures were over, irrespective of developments in Belarus-Russia relations. When it comes to the EU-Belarus Partnership Priorities, this is the strategic framework for bilateral cooperation in the coming years, which is currently being negotiated. Read more about EU-Belarus relations here. See earlier disinformation messages alleging that Alyaksandr Lukashenka skipped the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels because the West could organise his killing, that the EU wants Belarus to lose its independence, that that the West's only interest in Belarus is to make it anti-Russian, and that Schengen visa fees for Belarusians are high because the number of homosexuals per capita in Belarus is very low.