ASSESSMENTS

Lithuania Courts Belarus With Economic Incentives

Nov 6, 2014 | 10:30 GMT

The first LNG terminal enters into the port of Klaipeda on Oct. 27.

(PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

As the competition between Russia and the West over Ukraine unfolds, there is a similar yet more subtle process occurring in the neighboring state of Belarus. Lithuania has been one of the leading players in the effort to bring Belarus economically and politically closer to the European Union, a position Vilnius pushed during a Lithuania-Belarus economic forum held Nov. 4-5. Though Minsk has been reluctant to heed such requests, the crisis in Ukraine and a changing energy landscape in the Baltic region have made opportunities for economic collaboration with the West more enticing. Still, Belarus' strategic alliance with Russia and its hesitance to adopt Western-style governance will hamper Lithuania's efforts to bring it into the EU fold, at least for now.

Past efforts to turn Minsk away from Russia and toward Europe have failed, but regional players hope economic and energy factors will encourage greater interest....

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