Today we are pleased to present a new issue of Belarus' Foreign Policy Index, which covers July and August 2012 and focuses on five key areas of Belarus' foreign policy.
In the Russian vector, our experts saw decrease of the intensity of relations almost halve during the final months of the summer. This can be attributed to both the seasonal decline in contacts and delays in addressing numerous integration matters and commencement of the Russian probe into Belarusian export of solvents and diluents.
The relationship with the EU is again in the negative zone, mostly because of yet another diplomatic conflict, this time caused by the refusal to renew the Swedish ambassador's accreditation in Minsk.
Furthermore, the authors note a sharp reduction in the “developing nations” vector. After the exceptionally busy late spring and early summer (the previously monitored period that included May and June), July and August showed a significant drop; nevertheless, judging by previous Foreign Policy Index issues, a +5 index is typical of this area of Belarus' foreign policy effort.
The relations with China and Ukraine remained virtually unchanged.
Read the full text of the Index in PDF