The European Council on Foreign Relations and Anglo-Belarusian Society organise an invitation-only discussion entitled “What Makes Belarus So Difficult?” on Thursday 17th May at ECFR’s office in Westminster.

While the ongoing human rights violations

draw widespread international attention, the reasons which make the Belarusian political system so different from other Eastern European governments is a widely overlooked topic. The strong international reaction to symptoms of Belarus’ problems is often not accompanied by looking into the underlying reasons for these problems.

The discussion will offer an evaluation of the roots of the current political situation  in Belarus and discuss solutions on how to better deal with the situation.  It will shed light on the discourse of “carrots and sticks” in the EU policy, the reasons why Russia continuously supports the political status quo in Belarus as well as the possibilities for reaching out to the wider Belarusian society whilst bypassing the regime in Minsk.

“What Makes Belarus So Difficult?”

Edward Lucas, International Editor of the Economist, and Senior Fellow of the Center for European Policy Analysis

Jana Kobzova, Policy fellow & programme coordinator, European Council on Foreign Relations

Moderated by Yarik Kryvoi, Editor-in-Chief of Belarus Digest and Secretary of Anglo-Belarusian Society

Thursday 17th May, 6.30-8.00 pm (registration from 6.15 pm)

Venue: ECFR office, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 35 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9JA

Edward Lucas is International Editor of The Economist. He has been covering Central and Eastern Europe for more than 20 years, witnessing the final years of the last Cold War, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the

Soviet empire. His highly regarded publications include the New Cold War and Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West.

Jana Kobzova is ECFR’s Policy fellow and programme-coordinator. At ECFR, she covers the EU’s relations with its eastern neighbours including Russia. Before joining ECFR, Jana headed the Belarus democratisation programme at the Bratislava-based Pontis Foundation between 2006 and 2009. Her publications for ECFR include Dealing with a post-BRIC Russia and The EU and Belarus: After the Election.