Belarus is currently characterized by a conflicting relationship with the European Union and the United States due to repeated harassment and imprisonment of political opponents by its acting President Alexander Lukashenko. His relations with Russia are often characterized by tensions due to the Belarusian need to attract capital and investment in the country, and thus from the Russian pressures to ensure a substantial share of the local economy and especially its gas pipelines, thereby relegating Lukashenko to a role Of minority partners in decision-making processes within their country