{"id":119682,"date":"2024-12-25T12:50:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-25T09:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/119682\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"minsk-unlikely-to-succeed-in-restoring-ties-to-west-via-vatican-pundit","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/119682\/","title":{"rendered":"Minsk unlikely to succeed in restoring ties to West via Vatican \u2013 pundit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

December 25, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s plans of restoring relations with the West via diplomatic rapprochement with the Vatican and release of political prisoners are likely to fail this time, political expert Piotr Rudko\u016dski has told Pozirk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current political situation is fundamentally different compared to 2016 or 2009 when he succeeded in this strategy, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk’s plans to open an embassy in the Vatican next year are not surprising as more than 80 countries have their diplomatic missions there, including Cuba, Iran and Russia, yet the timing of this decision is interesting, the expert said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move may be a part of the plan to revise Belarusian foreign and domestic policy after the January presidential election, Rudko\u016dski said. It is even more remarkable amid the ongoing \u201coptimization\u201d of Belarusian diplomacy, which led to a significant staff reduction at embassies and consulates in Western countries, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus established diplomatic ties with the Vatican back in 1992. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The position of Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus has been vacant since September after the departure of Archbishop Ante Jozi\u0107, who had represented the Holy See in Minsk since 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the 2020 presidential election, the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church deteriorated as many priests and faithful denounced police brutality and repression. Some clerics were arrested or forced to flee the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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