What did three presidents promise Brussels in July 2021?
A look back at a joint statement on closer European Union ties, issued days before 22 July 2021, and a parallel appeal from Belarus's opposition in Washington.
What was the mood in Eastern Europe's diplomacy on 22 July 2021? It was shaped by two developments from the preceding days, both aimed at pressing for change in the region.
On 19 July 2021, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili announced in a joint statement that their countries intended to pursue closer relations with the European Union. The move was effectively a rebuke to Russia, as reported at the time.
The statement placed Ukraine alongside two other states in making a shared declaration of European intent, rather than acting on its own. It concerned Ukraine–European Union relations, as well as the Georgian and Moldovan equivalents.
A day later, on 20 July 2021, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, visiting Washington, D.C., asked the Biden administration to impose sanctions on companies in Belarus. Her aim was to put pressure on the government of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Together, the two episodes showed governments and opposition figures in the region seeking support from Western partners in the days leading up to 22 July 2021.
