Belarus–Estonia relations are foreign relations between

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Before

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, both countries were part of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and before then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established on

April 6 Events Pre–1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. * 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. * ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

.https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005747/http://vm.ee/et/riigid/valgevene?display=relations (vaadatud 02.11.2017) Belarus has a Consulate General in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. Estonia opened its Consulate General in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

July 21 Events Pre-1600 * 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson. * 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became th ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

History

Post-1991

The Republic of Estonia recognized Belarus's independence on April 20, 1992. The two countries had different views on their further development after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Estonia sought to join NATO, the European Union, and strengthen ties with the Baltic countries. Due to this, Belarus was perceived as a "fragment of the Soviet Union" in Estonia. The Belarusian government opened its consulate-general in Tallinn in March 1994. In turn, Estonia did the same a year later in July 1995. As relations gradually improved, Estonia decided to open its embassy in Minsk in October 2009. Belarus reciprocated by opening its embassy in Tallinn in June 2010. On November 30, 1994, an agreement on the regulation of relations between the foreign ministries of Belarus and Estonia was signed. In July 2009, members of the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

(Estonian Parliament) visited Belarus. In September 2010, a delegation from the

National Assembly of Belarus The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus (; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belarus. The two chambers of the National Assembly are: *the Council of the Republic – the upper house *the House of Representatives – the lower house. ...

also visited Estonia.

Development

Estonian officials have often criticized Belarus multiple times for human rights violations and reluctance to adhere to democratic standards. After the presidential elections in 2010, relations between the two countries deteriorated. Estonia did not recognize the Belarusian presidential elections as democratic. In early 2011, the Estonian leadership supported the proposal to impose image-based sanctions against Belarusian authorities. During the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting, a working meeting between the foreign ministers of Belarus and Estonia took place. In early October 2017, a Belarusian delegation visited Estonia, led by

First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus The First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus is a government post of the Council of Ministers of Belarus. In the absence of the Prime Minister of Belarus, the first deputy performs his or her duties as the acting prime minister. In 1 ...

Vasily Matyushevsky Vasily Stanislavovich Matyushevsky (; born 26 March 1969) is a Belarusian banker and politician serving as chairman of :ru:Банк БелВЭБ, BelVEB since 2018. From 2014 to 2018, he served as First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, first de ...

. During the visit, a meeting with Estonian Prime Minister

Jüri Ratas Jüri Ratas (; born 2 July 1978) is an Estonian politician who served as the prime minister of Estonia from 2016 to 2021 and as the leader of the Centre Party from 2016 to 2023, and the mayor of Tallinn from 2005 to 2007. Ratas was a member o ...

was organized.

Deterioration in relations

After the sixth presidential elections in Belarus, relations between the two countries began to worsen. Estonia became the first country to impose sanctions against Belarusian officials. The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not recognize the legitimacy of

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

. On October 8, 2020, the Ambassador of Estonia to Belarus, Merike Kokajev, presented her credentials to Alexander Lukashenko. As of summer of 2021, Estonia appointed a new ambassador to Belarus, but the Estonian authorities decided that Jaak Lensment would not go to Belarus as the ambassador. However, the appointment was later canceled. On August 12, 2022, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Urmas Reinsalu Urmas Reinsalu (; born 22 June 1975) is an Estonian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2022 to 2023 and previously from 2019 to 2021. Before that, Urmas has served as the Minister of Defence between 2012 and 2014, and Mi ...

announced that Estonian authorities decided not to send their ambassador to Belarus after the end of the term of the current head of the diplomatic mission. He explained that "sending an ambassador would mean presenting credentials to Lukashenko, who is not recognized by the Republic of Estonia as the legitimate president, so the level of our diplomatic relations remains at the level of a Chargé d'affaires".

Relations with the Belarusian opposition

On October 24, 2022,

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Sviatlana Hieorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (; born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian political activist. After standing as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election against the president Alexander Lukashenko, she has led the political opposit ...

, the recognized winner of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election by EU countries, visited Tallinn, Estonia, upon the invitation of Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs,

. During her visit, Tsikhanouskaya held important meetings with Estonian leaders, including President

Alar Karis Alar Karis (; born 26 March 1958) is an Estonian molecular geneticist, developmental biologist, civil servant and politician who, since 11 October 2021, has served as the sixth president of Estonia. Prior to presidency Karis was born in Tar ...

and Parliament Speaker

, as well as university rectors. She addressed deputies with a speech highlighting the struggle of Belarusians for freedom and against Russian revanchism. During the meeting with Urmas Reinsalu, she mentioned Belarusian figure

Anton Luckievich Anton Ivanavič Luckievič (, , ; 29 January 1884 – 23 March 1942) was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century, an initiator of the proclamation of the independence of Belarus, the Prime Minister and t ...

and his connection with Estonia, stating that Estonia has been a reliable friend of democracy in Belarus. As a gesture of support and friendship, Reinsalu ceremoniously presented her with a copy of the found archives of the Act of Recognition of Estonian Independence by the Belarusian People's Republic. In response to the situation in Belarus, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Estonia will appoint a diplomatic representative to Vilnius, Lithuania, who will work with democratic forces in Belarus. Estonian President Alar Karis reaffirmed the country's support for Belarusian democratic forces and stressed the need to hold Alexander Lukashenko, the incumbent leader of Belarus, accountable for his actions. Overall, the visit of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Tallinn highlighted Estonia's commitment to supporting democracy in Belarus and strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.

External links

Belarussian consulate general in Tallinn

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belarus-Estonia relations

Bilateral relations of Estonia