Belarus joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) in 1995 and relations should be understood in the context of the PfP Framework Document. The values and principles of NATO’s Partnership for Peace are clear: they include a commitment to the preservation of democratic societies, their freedom from coercion and intimidation, and an adherence to the principles of international law.
NATO reviewed its relations with Belarus following the March 2006 Belarusian Presidential elections. Allies decided to pursue a twin-track approach: keeping open channels of communication, practical cooperation and dialogue, while also enhancing efforts to promote democracy and foster defence reform in Belarus. Since its 28 September 2008 parliamentary election, Belarus has experienced an improvement in its relations with the European Union.
NATO also remains open to dialogue and cooperation. However, high-level political contact and the pace and depth of such NATO-Belarus cooperation depend on the progress of democratic reform in Belarus. NATO will not deal with those involved in political repression.
Framework for cooperation
The belief that there is value in communication and practical cooperation is put into practice in several ways. Dialogue takes place within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and is facilitated by the existence of Belarus’ diplomatic mission to NATO, which was opened in April 1998. Under the Partnership for Peace, NATO and Belarus are developing practical cooperation in a number of areas through Belarus’ Individual Partnership Programme (IPP).
On the basis of the IPP, Belarusian personnel are attending courses in NATO countries and practical cooperation is being developed in areas such as civil emergency planning, crisis management, arms control, air defence and air traffic control, telecommunications and information processing, plus language training and military education.
Key areas of cooperation
Security cooperation
One important aspect of cooperation is Belarus’ participation in the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP). This is aimed at encouraging transparency and at assisting the country in developing capabilities and interoperability for international peace-support operations. NATO helps set planning targets that will enable Belarus to develop some of its forces and capabilities for potential participation in PfP activities, including NATO-led PfP operations, and in this way contribute to security and stability.
Demilitarization project
A good example of the tangible benefits of practical cooperation is a PfP Trust Fund project, aimed at helping Belarus meet its obligations under the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction. Completed in January 2007, this joint project, led by Canada and co-funded by Lithuania and Belarus, involved the destruction of some 700,000 anti-personnel mines in Belarus.
Science and environment
NATO and Belarus also cooperate on security-related science. Since 2001, Belarus has received grant awards for about 40 cooperative activities under NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme. Areas include telecommunications, Chernobyl-related risk assessment studies and explosive material detection systems. In addition, over 75 science fellowships have been awarded to Belarusian scientists to study in NATO countries since 1993.
Public information
NATO also seeks to aid the development of Belarusian civil society. This takes place primarily through public diplomacy activities. Belarusian non-governmental and civil society organisations are encouraged to engage with NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division. Enquiries should be directed via the Lithuanian embassy in Minsk, which is NATO’s Contact Point Embassy in Belarus.
Evolution of relations
Formal NATO-Belarus cooperation began in earnest when Belarus joined the Partnership for Peace in 1995. Relations have fluctuated since then – most recently, relations took a downturn due to developments surrounding the March 2006 presidential election. Nevertheless, contact and cooperation has continued in line with the Allies' belief that a policy of engagement and consultation is preferable to pursuing an approach which seeks to disengage and isolate.
Key milestones
| 1992 | Belarus joins the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC, later renamed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997) |
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| 1995 | Belarus joins the Partnership for Peace, a programme aimed at increasing security and defence cooperation between NATO and individual Partner countries. |
| President Lukashenka declared temporary suspension of implementation of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty. | |
| Belarus takes part in a NACC meeting, for the first time, in June, in Oslo, Norway. | |
| President Lukashenka suspends the withdrawal of Russian strategic missiles from Belarus. | |
| 1996 | The withdrawal of former Soviet nuclear weapons from Belarusian territory is completed. |
| 1998 | Belarus opens a permanent representative office at NATO. |
| 1999 | Belarus temporarily halts all cooperation with NATO, including the PfP programme and EAPC, in protest at NATO’s Kosovo air campaign. |
| The NATO Parliamentary Assembly issues a declaration on the situation in Belarus, urging the restoration of democracy, and for the Belarusian government to ensure human rights and mass media freedom. | |
| 2000 | The NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopts a resolution condemning the intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of members of the Belarusian political opposition. |
| 2001 | The NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopts a resolution, criticizing the Belarusian government and the presidential election which failed to meet international election standards. |
| 2004 | Belarus joins the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP). |
| 2006 | The Allies condemn the presidential election in Belarus as failing to meet international standards and conduct a review of NATO-Belarus relations. |
| 2007 | NATO and Belarus complete the first PfP trust fund project in Belarus, which destroyed some 700,000 anti-personnel mines. |