Belarus's soft power builds Eurasian bridges: Foreign media review

The week was eventful and productive, with one of the central events being the visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Belarus.

📰 Swissinfo 🇨🇭: "Belarus and Uzbekistan signed a declaration on strategic partnership… According to the Uzbek leader, never before in the history of relations between the two countries has there been such mutual understanding and tangible results."

📰 Bne IntelliNews 🇩🇪: "Mirziyoyev and Lukashenko concluded two-day talks in Minsk, signing a substantial package of trade agreements, bringing concrete results to the Belarusian leader's diplomatic efforts."

📰 Global Korea Post 🇰🇷: "In the context of a changing global economy, Uzbek-Belarusian cooperation is gaining strategic significance. This is about building sustainable industrial cooperation between Belarus and one of the most dynamically developing markets in Central Asia."

Media attention was also drawn to the President's statements on Ukraine.

📰 Kyiv Post 🇺🇦: "Lukashenko stated that Belarusian troops would not be sent to fight in Ukraine, blaming the international 'party of war' led by the West for prolonging the conflict."

📰 21News 🇧🇪: "His statement came after several weeks of speculation fueled by Kyiv."

Western analysts also comment on speculation.

📰 Interia 🇵🇱: "Should we expect another offensive on Ukraine, this time involving Belarusian units? According to Kamil Klyśinski, an expert at the Centre for Eastern Studies, such a scenario is the result of 'disinformation, distortions, and information noise.' 'There is no pressure from Putin on Lukashenko. We study this issue very carefully, and in recent years of war, we have never found any evidence of such pressure,' he claims."

Meanwhile, media continue analyzing the President's extensive working trip.

📰 Caliber 🇦🇿: "Today, a real struggle for Southeast Asian markets is unfolding. Early entry into these markets, competitive pricing, high product quality, reliability, and the ability to fulfill agreements can give Belarus significant advantages."

German journalists, meanwhile, seem disappointed. After Lukashenko’s visits to Russia and China, they expected sensational statements, but instead received advice on growing potatoes.

📰 Bne IntelliNews 🇩🇪: "I'm worried about the potatoes," Lukashenko said, explaining that the previous evening he personally inspected the harvest… The leader, who has insisted all summer that Belarus "does not need war," clearly knows which crisis citizens will not forgive: drones over the border are an abstraction for most Belarusians; empty potato shelves are not.

We share an insight with our German colleagues: stories about threats from the East, endlessly broadcast by Western media, are also abstract for most Germans. Unlike supermarket price tags, sky-high utility bills, and the fear of losing jobs amid a "wave of bankruptcies" in Germany.

But while some try to mock, others attempt to understand our country.

📰 Novastan 🇫🇷: "For Central Asian countries seeking to modernize agriculture, develop mining and transport, Belarus offers something few partners can: industrial technologies adapted to post-Soviet realities and affordable prices… Belarus has never exerted influence through large-scale geopolitical strategies. Its soft power is quieter. It manifests in universities, not on TV; in engineering schools, not cultural institutions; in technical cooperation, not ideological propaganda. This is the Belarusian model of soft power: practical, technocratic, and long-term… By turning to the East, Minsk has not found a replacement for Europe, but a region ready to evaluate it not by geopolitical factors, but by practical cooperation. And in a fragmented international order, this could become one of the most significant shifts in Eurasian diplomacy."