{"id":579773,"date":"2026-09-22T16:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T13:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=579773"},"modified":"2026-09-22T17:31:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:31:04","slug":"kavaleuski-calls-for-review-of-belarus-isolation-strategy-at-un-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/kavaleuski-calls-for-review-of-belarus-isolation-strategy-at-un-event","title":{"rendered":"Kavaleuski Calls For Review Of Belarus Isolation Strategy At UN Event"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Founder and Executive Director of the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Agency and former representative of the United Transitional Cabinet for Foreign Affairs Valery Kavaleuski<\/strong> spoke at the event \u201cBelarus: Accomplice in Russia\u2019s War Against Ukraine and a Threat to International Security.\u201d It was organised by Latvia and the EU with the assistance of Tsikhanouskaya\u2019s Office<\/a> on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n

In his speech, Kavaleuski criticised the results of the European Union\u2019s policy of isolating Belarus and called for ways to distance the country from the war to be sought.<\/p>\n

The event took place on September 21. As Kavaleuski reported<\/a>, it was attended by ministers, deputy ministers and political directors of the foreign ministries of several countries. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya<\/strong> also spoke at the meeting.<\/p>\n

According to Kavaleuski, the participants\u2019 speeches were similar in tone and content. Their common position was that Belarus poses a threat, so sanctions and international isolation should continue, while Belarusian democratic forces should continue to receive support.<\/p>\n

Kavaleuski described his own speech as a \u201cdissenting report.\u201d According to him, against the backdrop of general unanimity, he found himself in an \u201cexclusive minority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kavaleuski said that despite the participants\u2019 shared views, the results of Brussels\u2019 six-year strategy towards Belarus are causing concern in many EU capitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation in Belarus is significantly worse than in 2020, when there was an effort to improve it, and now the movement is continuing in the same wrong direction \u2014 towards deterioration. Refusal to engage, isolation are working against our own home,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

Kavaleuski stressed that he did not want Belarus to be destroyed simply to prove that the position taken after the events of 2020 was correct. In his view, over the past six years, Minsk, Brussels and the Belarusian democratic forces have directed their main efforts towards confrontation, while significantly less attention has been paid to resolving contentious issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelarus is my home. I do not want to destroy it just to prove that I was right six years ago. Yes, we were right. However, over six years, all sides have invested mainly in this confrontation \u2014 Minsk, Brussels, the democratic forces. Very little has been invested in resolving contentious issues,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

The reduction of European presence in Belarus, Kavaleuski believes, has created additional space for Russia, China and Iran. According to him, these countries are not interested in protecting human rights and democracy, or in preserving Belarusian sovereignty and independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are using Belarus and turning it into a weapon against our closest neighbours,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

Kavaleuski also called for the current policy of isolating Minsk to be assessed in terms of its impact on the prospects for sustainable peace in Ukraine. In his view, Belarus in its current state is not a reliable option for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith such a Belarus, everyone will be under threat: Ukraine, our European neighbours and, first and foremost, Belarusian sovereignty,\u201d<\/em> he stressed.<\/p>\n

Instead of further escalating confrontation, Kavaleuski proposed seeking opportunities to \u201cpull Belarus away from the war\u201d through joint efforts. He cited humanitarian diplomacy, which he said had helped secure the release of more than 500 people, as well as humanitarian exchanges between Ukraine and Russia conducted on Belarusian territory as positive examples.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch actions create space for new opportunities. They are also a significant contribution to Ukraine\u2019s interests, for which bringing its people home is a priority,\u201d<\/em> Kavaleuski said.<\/p>\n

He also called for greater caution in choosing wording when discussing international peace and security. In his view, escalation should be avoided even at the rhetorical level, as it could lead to the geographical expansion of the war.<\/p>\n

As an example, Kavaleuski cited rising tensions in public statements by Kyiv and Minsk during the first half of the year. He noted that this trend subsequently ended, but called on Belarusian politicians to avoid actions and statements that could bring the war closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be careful not to bring trouble to Belarus. All Belarusian politicians should avoid steps and rhetoric that could bring war into our homes,\u201d<\/em> he concluded.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Kavaleuski worked at the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, including at the Belarusian embassy in Washington. Before joining Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya\u2019s team, he worked at the World Bank. From 2020 to 2022, Kavaleuski was responsible for international relations at Tsikhanouskaya\u2019s Office, and from August 2022 he served as deputy head and representative for foreign affairs of the United Transitional Cabinet.<\/p>\n

In June 2024, he resigned, citing, among other things, disagreements over strategic approaches and tactical issues. Kavaleuski later founded the Warsaw-based Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founder and Executive Director of the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Agency and former representative of the United Transitional Cabinet for Foreign Affairs Valery Kavaleuski spoke at the event \u201cBelarus: Accomplice in Russia\u2019s War Against Ukraine and a Threat to International Security.\u201d It was organised by Latvia and the EU with the assistance of Tsikhanouskaya\u2019s Office on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":579772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6ab2912be3921.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Kavaleuski Calls For Review Of Belarus Isolation Strategy At UN Event"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142338,143090],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-579773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579774,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579773\/revisions\/579774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}