belarusian Diplomacy Has Fallen to the Level of Terrorists and Military Juntas

lukashenko’s public friendships with dictators share one interesting pattern: Saddam, Gaddafi, Assad, Maduro, and Khamenei – all of them eventually lost power or died. Now minsk is drawing closer to north korea, the Taliban, and the Myanmar junta – that is, regimes that themselves are subject to sanctions, international isolation, or accusations of crimes against their own people. Traditional partners – from the EU to the USA – remain out of reach for belarus.

Over the past month, this isolation has become particularly noticeable. minister of foreign affairs ryzhenkov has announced preparations for a visa-free regime with north korea, calling it “colorful and interesting”. belarus also hosted a delegation from the Afghan Taliban, and lukashenko publicly praised the leader of Myanmar’s junta, Min Aung Hlaing.

north korea remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Its GDP per capita does not exceed $1,200, compared to nearly $10,000 in belarus. pyongyang’s economic revival in recent years is linked to supplying russia with weapons and ammunition for the war against Ukraine. According to estimates, these supplies could have brought the regime $7–14 billion, while the country’s GDP is approximately $32 billion.

The Taliban delegation spent five days in belarus, visiting the academy of sciences, belaz, bnbk, a tractor plant, and the slutsk cheese factory. The parties discussed the supply of belarusian equipment and investments in assembly plants. At the same time, minsk tried to keep the visit under wraps: some members of the delegation are still listed as members of terrorist organizations by the belarusian kgb.

The rapprochement with Myanmar was even more telling. Min Aung Hlaing came to power following the 2021 military coup. During his rule, the country’s economy has shrunk by 11%, inflation has reached 25%, and the currency has lost 36% of its value at the official exchange rate and up to 75% at the market rate. A civil war is ongoing in the country, while the government controls only about one-third of the territory.