Can the West trust Belarus?

But, according to skeptical observers, this move - coming as it does ahead of presidential elections - is just another gesture on the part of an authoritarian head of state to win a more favourable approach from the West.

So, just how trustworthy are the acts of the Belarussian head of state, Alexander Lukashenko?

“Lukashenko is trying to improve relations with the West because the economic situation in Belarus is really bad and Russia does not provide loans for Belarus, so he wants to improve his relations with the West in order to get loans from the International Monetary Fund," Alexander Papko, from Radio Poland's Belarussian section, told Agnieszka Bielawska.