The political scientist spoke about the difference in approaches to Moscow and Minsk from the United States and the EU

Yevgeny Preigerman, director of the Minsk Dialogue Council on Foreign Relations, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that the approach of the European Union and the United States to relations with Minsk differs in its philosophy.

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"The Europeans repeat like a mantra day after day that they have principles that they have proclaimed to themselves, and they put forward some conditions. At the same time, they themselves do not understand what the conditions are and what they want," the expert explained.

At the same time, although Trump's interests often do not coincide with either Russian or Belarusian ones, the American leader adheres to the idea of a diplomatic settlement.

"He needs negotiations to achieve some results or solve any problems. That's the difference," the specialist said.

At the same time, not everyone in Europe does not share the harsh approaches of Poland and the Baltic countries towards Belarus and the Russian Federation, the expert noted.

"They are asking themselves: who gives them the right to dictate to us and the entire European Union what policy should have been towards Minsk and Moscow. If there is any progress in the Belarusian-American relations, it cannot be ruled out that some de-escalation measures may begin," the political scientist explained.

Preigerman added that in the event of an escalation, there are two possible scenarios for the development of events.

"The first one is that the escalation is becoming chronic. For example, the temporary closure of the borders between Poland and Belarus may take a long time. The second is a sharp de-escalation. It is difficult to make any long-term forecasts yet, but given that the situation is developing and US-Belarusian talks are underway, there are chances for de—escalation," the expert concluded.

On September 11, US Deputy Special Representative John Cole met with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. An American official handed him a letter from US President Donald Trump and a gift of cufflinks with an image of the White House. Read more about the development of the situation in the Izvestia article:

Cufflink diplomacy: The United States wanted to return the embassy to Belarus