Belarus Headlines

Belarusian Issue at NATO PA Session in Berlin On May 24-27, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held its spring session. This year, parliamentarians from the NATO member states and associate members, partner countries, representatives of interparliamentary assemblies and observers gathered in the German capital Berlin. Many topics were discussed during the meetings of the Assembly’s five committees and at the plenary session, including the cooperation of the NATO PA with Russia, questions about European energy security, the assembly’s contribution to NATO’s strategic concept, current military operations of the Alliance and contributions of members and nonmember states to them, prospects of NATO enlargement, and many other key issues dealing with security. There were no members of the Belarusian National Assembly present at the session. Belarus has not participated in the NATO PA since 1997, when the status of the Associate Member (granted in 1991) was suspended as a result of the increasingly undemocratic activities by the current government. The Assembly maintains contacts with representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces and the analytical community in the country.