US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, recently, in the most significant visit to the Eastern European country in a generation, hailed as a turning point for relations between the two countries.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shakes hands with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Minsk, Belarus. Photo: U.S. Department of State / Flickr
During the visit, Pompeo met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko telling him that the US could help Belarus achieve "sovereignty" and "independence", and offered to provide the country with all its oil and gas needs after Russia cut off its supplies last month.
Pompeo stressed that he understood the long history between Belarus and Russia and was not asking the authoritarian administration in Minsk to choose between Washington and Moscow.
Last month, President Lukashenko said that he was looking to reduce his country's dependence on Russian energy, reducing the supply to around 40% and securing supplies from other sources, such as Norway, Poland, Ukraine, the Middle East, and to a degree, the United States.
Previously, around 80% of Belarus' energy came from its neighbour to the east. Until the curtailment of Russian supplies on December 31, Belarus was paying domestic prices for oil and gas from its neighbour.
During a series of presidential meetings between President Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin last year, Putin had insisted on further political integration in exchange for cheap energy imports.
The two countries failed to agree on an oil supply contract and supplies were cut as the year came to a close.
Last month, Norwegian oil began arriving in the country, which officials in Belarus described as being of much higher quality that imports from Russia.
“The United States wants to help Belarus build its own sovereign country,” Pompeo told a press conference with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei. “Our energy producers stand ready to deliver 100% of the oil you need at competitive prices. We’re the biggest energy producer in the world and all you have to do is call us."
“Your nation should not be forced to be dependent on any one partner for your prosperity or for your security,” he continued.
He added that the US was ready to bring opportunities for foreign investment but called for "easier conditions" to enable foreign, particularly American, companies to enter the Belarusian market.
President Lukashenko, in turn, praised President Trump and his administration for bringing new life to previously strained relations between the US and Belarus, adding that Pompeo's visit had come after years of "baseless misunderstandings" with previous US administrations.
The visit is likely to be the cause of further diplomatic tension between Moscow and Minsk, although the Kremlin has said that Belarusian third-party relations are a sovereign matter for Belarus.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov downplayed Pompeo's pitch, saying: “We can hardly talk about an ultra-rapid convergence here," before adding that his government was still in talks with Minsk to smooth over problematic issues.
While the visit by Pompeo indicates growing US interest in Belarus, cooperation between the two countries is likely to remain limited and Minsk is unlikely to opt for a solution that will anger Moscow.
In 2006, under President George W. Bush, the US imposed sanctions on Belarus over human rights abuses which prohibit Belarusian companies high-profile individuals from owning property or doing business in the US.
Two years later, staff numbers at the US embassy were drastically reduced, with then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice describing Belarus as "Europe's last dictatorship".
Some of the sanctions were suspended in 2015 following the release of several political prisoners in the country and parliamentary elections which resulted in opposition MPs entering the country's parliament for the first time since the country gained its independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Pompeo said that, despite improvements on the issue of human rights, it was still "too early" to lift the remaining US sanctions on the country.
“Belarus has made real progress on democratisation and human rights issues, but there is still work to be done. The United States prioritises respect for human rights, a strong civil society and press freedom in every corner of the world. Progress in these areas is the only way towards lifting American sanctions,” the Secretary of State said.
In September 2019, the two countries agreed to appoint ambassadors for the first time since 2008 and Pompeo said the appointment would be made soon.
However, according to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a group which monitors elections for freedom and fairness, the 2019 Belarusian parliamentary election showed “an overall disregard for fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression”, were conducted with “limited” impartiality and independence, and saw no opposition MPs keep their seats.
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