The EU and Belarus after the election

Far from representing a show of strength, the brutal post-election crackdown in Belarus was a sign of the Lukashenka regime’s internal weakness. The EU must seize this opportunity to isolate the President while working with Belarusian society to help the country move beyond authoritarianism. It must also take advantage of Russia’s growing frustration with its ally to begin a direct conversation with Moscow about Minsk – something that Lukashenka fears.