Belarus deepens ties with distant nations, hosts major POW exchange
«Don’t waste time, but move forward.» Foreign media review for the week
Strengthening diplomatic and economic relations between Minsk and countries of the far abroad, guarding the borders of the Union State, and a large-scale prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine on Belarusian territory — these and other topics were covered by foreign media this week.
Journalists focused on Minsk’s intensified cooperation with China, Myanmar, and North Korea.
📰 Asia Today 🇮🇩: «Belarus has opened its first embassy in North Korea, deepening diplomatic relations with Pyongyang following Lukashenko’s visit to the North Korean capital in March. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry described this step as part of a targeted policy to strengthen presence in far-abroad countries geographically distant from Belarus.»
📰 The Korea JoongAng Daily 🇰🇷: «Belarus has opened new embassies in Pyongyang and Naypyidaw. The opening of embassies resulted from agreements reached by Lukashenko during talks with the leaders of both countries.»
📰 Caliber 🇦🇿: «Lukashenko emphasized that Minsk is interested in serious relations with Myanmar, for which there are economic prerequisites. “We just must not waste time, but move forward.”»
📰 People’s Daily 🇨🇳: «Premier of China’s State Council Li Qiang stated readiness to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Belarus. Li Qiang noted that China and Belarus are true friends who trust and support each other, and under the strategic guidance of Xi Jinping and Alexander Lukashenko, comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Belarus continues to develop steadily, yielding fruitful results in bilateral cooperation.»
📰 «Xinhua» 🇨🇳: «China intends to import more high-quality products from Belarus and supports Chinese enterprises in investing and doing business in the country, said the Premier of the State Council. He expressed China’s readiness to strengthen communication and coordination with Belarus on regional and international issues, closely interact within mechanisms such as SCO and BRICS, promote multilateralism and free trade, and protect the common interests of both countries.»
Several publications focused on the meeting between the President of Belarus and Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, as well as the joint collegium of the defense ministries of the two countries.
📰 «Renmin Ribao» 🇨🇳: «The Belarusian leader thanked the Russian Defense Minister for the joint grouping formed within the CSTO framework on the western direction and noted that the preparation of Belarus’s armed forces is aimed at preventing military aggression from outside.»
📰 Postxronika 🇦🇿: «Lukashenko emphasized that Belarus and Russia do not want war on the western front, but must always be ready to prevent it.»
📰 Swissinfo 🇨🇭: «Russia and Belarus will strengthen military coordination and combat readiness in response to NATO’s increased activity along their borders… Viktor Khrenin emphasized the importance of maintaining combat readiness of both countries’ forces and highlighted the significance of the «Shield of the Union — 2027» military exercises, intended to demonstrate determination and capability to jointly defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two states.»
📰 PISM 🇵🇱: «Belarus is strengthening national defense. According to Belarusian authorities, the intensification of Belarus’s defense preparedness is not only a consequence of the war in Ukraine but also a response to the growing militarization of neighboring countries on the eastern flank, including Poland.»
But no matter how much the situation escalates along our borders, Belarus continues to fulfill its peacemaking mission. This week, during a large-scale prisoner exchange on Belarusian soil, 540 Russians and Ukrainians regained long-awaited freedom and were able to return home — to their families and loved ones. Some of them admitted they already felt at home in Belarus.
📰 Democrata 🇪🇸: «Russia and Ukraine conducted an exchange of 540 prisoners… This exchange, one of the largest in recent times, took place on Belarusian territory.»
📰 Reuters 🇬🇧: «In the past, similar exchanges have accompanied steps toward starting negotiations.»