Relationship dossier
Belarus
Ireland
Relationship assessment
Political confrontation and sanctions shape Belarus-Ireland relations
Belarus toward Ireland
-20Belarus included Ireland among states designated as unfriendly in response to Western sanctions. The practical scope of measures specifically affecting Ireland is unclear.
Ireland toward Belarus
-35Ireland has supported European Union restrictive measures against Belarus, including measures responding to political repression and Belarus’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Overall relationship
-30The relationship is chiefly shaped by Belarus’s political confrontation with European governments and Ireland’s participation in EU restrictive measures against Belarus. These opposing policies weigh against closer bilateral ties, while the scope of direct engagement and countermeasures remains unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Relations are marked by political confrontation and sanctions rather than substantial bilateral cooperation. Belarus included Ireland among states it designated as unfriendly in response to Western measures. Ireland has supported European Union restrictive measures against Belarus over political repression and its role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The scope of direct bilateral engagement and the practical effects of Belarusian countermeasures are unclear.
Areas of tension
- Irish support for EU sanctions against Belarus
- Political repression and the treatment of opposition in Belarus
- Belarus’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine
- Belarusian countermeasures affecting states designated as unfriendly
Key developments
Belarus designated Ireland among unfriendly states in response to Western sanctions.
Ireland supported EU restrictive measures against Belarus over political repression and Belarus’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and practical implementation of Belarusian measures affecting Ireland are unclear.
- Details of direct Irish-Belarusian government engagement beyond EU policy are limited.