Ukraine has suspended its diplomatic relations with neighboring Belarus, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Aug. 27, while taking part in a political talk-show Pravo na Vladu on the 1+1 television channel.
“We are monitoring the development of the situation, and only when we are convinced that these contacts will not cause reputational, moral, ethical losses for Ukraine, these contacts will be restored,” said Kuleba.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries started decreasing after self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made a series of hostile comments towards Ukraine.
In response to the ongoing mass protests against the falsified Aug. 9 presidential election in Belarus, Lukashenko asserted that Belarus faces a threat from NATO and Ukraine.
The first major rift between the two countries occurred after Lukashenko sent 32 Russian Wagner Group mercenaries back to Moscow on Aug. 14, despite Ukraine officially requesting their extradition for trial over their alleged role in Russia’s war in the Donbas.
On Aug. 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move “strange, irrelevant, and surely unacceptable in friendly international relations.”
Two days later, on Aug. 17, Ukraine recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Ihor Kyzym, from Minsk.
Soon, Lukashenko threatened Zelensky and the leaders of several European Union countries with unspecified consequences for allegedly provoking street protests.
“Do not hesitate and warn them about the punishment for inciting riots,” Lukashenko told Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei during a Belarus Security Council on Aug. 19.
Now, Ukraine takes one step further in its dealings with Belarus, canceling all potential bilateral negotiations.
“There are no contacts between the presidents of our countries now,” said Kuleba.
Despite that, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, known as the Minsk peace talks, currently remains intact, says Kuleba. There’s no need to relocate now as the talks are held online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister said.
The Trilateral Group on Ukraine includes representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and was formed to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region after it was invaded by Russia in 2014.
Since July 2014, the talks have been held in Minsk.
On Aug. 28, Kuleba made additional comments regarding Belarus.
Kuleba confirmed that Ukraine joined the European Union in condemning the recent elections in the country, yet said that Ukraine will decide separately on the need to impose economic sanctions against Belarus.
“Ukraine’s position is synchronized with our partners from the EU and the United States,” said Kuleba. “When we see the relevant EU sanctions, we will make our own decisions.”
On Aug. 19, President of the European Council Charles Michel issued a statement saying that the elections in Belarus “were neither free nor fair.”
A week prior, the EU had issued a similar declaration condemning election fraud in Belarus. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Ukraine signs off on the EU’s official declaration.
