DISINFO: EU needed Belarus's membership in the Eastern Partnership to build an anti-Russia grouping
SUMMARY
Lithuania, Poland, and other eastern European countries view the Eastern Partnership as an institutional cordon sanitaire and a buffer zone between Russia and Europe. They needed Belarus to take part in the Eastern Partnership, because without Belarus the chain of anti-Russian countries between the Baltic and Black Seas breaks down. Belarus's decision to suspend its membership in the Eastern Partnership is the greatest western geopolitical loss in eastern Europe since Crimea joined Russia.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU Eastern Partnership, which is portrayed as an “anti-Russian” tool used by the EU for alleged interference in internal affairs of the post-Soviet countries as well as the West's strategy of encircling Russia.
On 26 June 2021, Belarus suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership. This step was the Belarusian regime's reaction to the introduction of EU sanctions against Lukashenka’s regime.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU), its Member States and its six Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership initiative is a mutually beneficial and flexible platform for countries in the region to build a closer relationship with the EU if they choose to do so. The EU does not demand any of its partners to make a choice between the EU or any other country or grouping. The Eastern Partnership stands for good neighbourly relations and respects the individual aspirations and ambitions of each partner country and is not an attempt to encircle Russia. Read more about the Eastern Partnership and its priorities here.
The article also claims that Crimea joined Russia legitimately, a claim debunked in detail on this website.
Read earlier disinformation cases alleging that the EaP is a tool against the Commonwealth of Independent States, that it is about external control and disintegration, and that the Eastern Partnership aims to erode Belarusian identity and promote the views of Polish gentry.