Belarus and its neighbours: two border signals before 16 September 2025
A look back at two developments of 11 September 2025 that pulled Minsk's relations with Washington and Warsaw in different directions.
What did the days before 16 September 2025 reveal about Belarus's place in the region? Two reports from 11 September 2025 pointed in opposite directions.
In one, the United States lifted its sanctions on Belavia, the Belarusian flag carrier. The step came after the release of political prisoners, and it was reported as part of the developing relationship between Belarus and the United States.
In the other, Poland closed its border with Belarus indefinitely and deployed 40,000 troops to it. Warsaw cited security concerns over Russian–Belarusian military exercises near the region. As reported at the time, these were the first such exercises since 2022.
Taken together, the two reports from 11 September 2025 showed a Belarus whose relations with the West were being handled on separate tracks: one marked by an easing of sanctions tied to prisoner releases, the other by a hardened frontier and a large troop presence on the Polish side.
