UK lashes out at Belarus over expulsion of ‘diplomats’

The British foreign policy and defense establishment has hit out at Belarus after the government in Minsk expelled two British diplomats.

The diplomats – one of whom was the British defense attaché to Belarus – were expelled after repeated British interference in Belarusian affairs in the wake of the disputed presidential election in August.

FCO promoting intervention in Belarus via OSCE

The British government appears to be calling for intervention in Belarus by flat out calling the recent election result

Taking to Twitter, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, reiterated the oft-stated British position that the presidential election in August was “rigged”, before announcing that the UK was engaging in tit for tat retaliation by expelling two Belarusian diplomats.

— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) November 10, 2020 ">http://

The UK will not be cowed by the attempts of Lukashenko’s regime to stop us speaking out about the rigged election & the despicable violence against the Belarusian people. Today, we have expelled 2 Belarusian diplomats in response to the unjustified expulsion of 🇬🇧 diplomats.

— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) November 10, 2020

Raab later re-emphasized the UK’s desire to interfere in Belarus’ domestic affairs by issuing the following statement: “Instead of trying to bully those shining a light on his repression, Mr Lukashenko must agree to free and fair elections and enable those responsible for violence against demonstrators to be held to account”.

For its part, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (formerly known as the Foreign Office), issued a statement calling the expulsion of the Belarusian diplomats a “proportionate and appropriate response”.  

The defense secretary, Ben Wallace, was even harsher in his condemnatory tone, accusing the Belarusian authorities of expelling the UK defense attaché based on “fabricated and misleading” accusations.

— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) November 9, 2020 ">http://

The expulsion of the UK defence attaché based on fabricated and misleading accusations is a flagrant attempt to divert attention from the growing oppression to free speech and freedoms inside Belarus by the Lukashenko regime

— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) November 9, 2020

The tit for tat expulsion of diplomats by both sides marks a sharp escalation of tensions between London and Minsk.

It comes in the wake of the UK’s imposition of sanctions on Belarusian leaders and officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko and his son.

UK sanctions Belarus leader Lukashenko

The UK has joined Canada in imposing sanctions on 8 leading figures in the Belarusian establishment, including the country

The crisis in bilateral relations is in part a reflection of the UK’s frustration at not being able to build on its previous political and diplomatic investment in Belarus.

Before the disputed presidential election in August the UK made repeated attempts at courting the Belarusian establishment, even to the extent of engaging the country’s military by dispatching 30 Royal Marines to Minsk for a joint military exercise.

UK in 'unprecedented' deployment of Royal Marines to Belarus

In a move infused with political and strategic significance the UK is dispatching 30 Royal Marines to Belarus, a nation closely aligned to the Russian Federation.

In view of Belarus’ geographic, political, strategic and cultural proximity to Russia, the country is regarded as important by British defense and security strategists whose ultimate aim is to create political distance between Minsk and Moscow.

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