Relationship dossier
Belarus
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
Relations marked by sanctions and political confrontation
Belarus toward United Kingdom
-40Belarus has announced retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom in response to Western sanctions, placing the British government among the countries targeted by its countermeasures.
United Kingdom toward Belarus
-50The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials and entities in response to the 2020 election and repression in Belarus, and later over Belarus’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Overall relationship
-45The relationship is shaped by repeated sanctions and opposing positions on Belarus’s domestic repression and its support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. British sanctions and Belarusian countermeasures have sustained a pattern of bilateral confrontation.
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
Belarus–United Kingdom relations have been substantially adversarial, particularly since Belarus’s 2020 presidential election and its support for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials and entities; Belarus has announced retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom and other Western countries. These actions indicate sustained political confrontation, though the scope of direct bilateral measures and remaining cooperation is unclear.
Areas of tension
- United Kingdom sanctions on Belarusian officials and entities
- Repression and political rights in Belarus
- Belarus’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Belarusian retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom
Key developments
The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials in response to the disputed 2020 presidential election and subsequent repression.
The United Kingdom imposed further measures on Belarus over its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus announced retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom and other Western countries in response to sanctions.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of Belarusian retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom are unclear.
- The extent of any ongoing bilateral cooperation outside the sanctions dispute is unclear.