lukashenko Is Preparing a Purge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Diplomats Will Be Replaced with More Loyal Ones

For the first time since 2021, a meeting of heads of belarusian diplomatic missions took place in Minsk. The formal aim was to adapt foreign policy to the conditions of instability in international markets. The actual aim was to find ways of economic survival under sanctions pressure.

lukashenko set a clear task: the foreign policy service should bring economic returns. “The economy is limping along, and there are problems with exports,” he admitted during his speech.

In January–May 2025, total exports of goods and services grew by only 0.4 % year-on-year, while imports increased by 3.3 %. The trade balance went into the red again and has already exceeded $770 million, which is almost four times more than in the same period in 2024. The key burden is the goods. Their exports decreased by 3.1 %, while imports grew by 2 %. Even in its main market, russia, the belarusian industry is losing ground. The supply of products of the machinery manufacturing industry to the rf (including tractors, combines, and passenger cars) fell by $320 million in just five months.

Despite the economic difficulties, lukashenko continues to use diplomacy as an instrument of foreign policy maneuver. Minsk is trying to convince the West of the failure of the sanctions policy and at the same time hints at the possibility of releasing political prisoners in exchange for concessions.

At the same time, moscow remains Minsk’s main political and economic priority. However, even close ties with the kremlin do not save from structural imbalances: belarusian goods are being pushed out of key markets, both in the EU and in Africa and Asia. The reason is secondary sanctions that have affected trade in fertilizers, metal, and steel.

According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, some diplomats are expected to be replaced in the near future with more loyal and manageable individuals. This emphasizes that to lukashenko, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not a foreign policy tool, but a managerial structure whose task is to support the economy in isolation.