Poland, Lithuania Suffer Strategic Setback in Belarus

Poland issued a formal apology Aug. 12 for releasing sensitive information about Belarusian opposition figures and groups to Belarusian authorities. A week earlier, Lithuania revealed that it had also released information on Belarusian opposition groups to Minsk. Poland and Lithuania have served as havens for opposition groups in part because Warsaw and Vilnius want to pull Belarus out of Russia's sphere of influence. However, the information releases have damaged Poland's and Lithuania's reputations as reliable and effective supporters of the Belarusian opposition.