[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Following Russia's forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian government, which has strengthened its anti-Russian and pro-Western stance, announced that it will sever all relations with the Belarusian government, which is engulfed in political instability due to President Aleksandr Lukashenko's election fraud controversy. Ukraine also recalled its ambassador to Belarus, effectively declaring a diplomatic break.
According to Russia's TASS news agency, on the 27th (local time), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated in an interview with a domestic TV channel, "All contacts with Belarus have effectively been suspended," emphasizing, "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not contacted President Lukashenko since the Belarusian presidential election on the 9th and has no plans to do so for the time being." He also revealed that "the Ukrainian ambassador to Belarus has been recalled," indicating a de facto severance of diplomatic relations.
Minister Kuleba previously warned that the international negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, held in Minsk under President Lukashenko's leadership since 2014, could be relocated if necessary. Earlier, when armed conflict broke out in early 2014 between pro-Russian separatist rebels and the Ukrainian government forces in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, President Lukashenko invited representatives from Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union (EU) to Minsk to mediate peace talks, earning a reputation as a peace broker in the international community.
Since the regime change revolution in 2014, Ukraine, a former Soviet state now governed by a pro-Western administration, has pursued Westernization by signing an economic cooperation agreement with the EU, leading to conflicts with Russia. Ukraine has consistently taken a critical stance on the election fraud controversy surrounding the Lukashenko regime, which maintains cooperative relations with Russia.
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