"The life principle of Belarusians is good neighborliness." How Lukashenko sought new points of support in the East and what he called on the West to do
February 25, 2026
Each period in the history of independent Belarus can be considered a turning point. Even if it was a perfectly ordinary year by global standards. By building relationships with global players and neighbors, balancing between challenges and major projects on the international stage, the young republic has managed to prove that the course towards a sovereign future and multi-vector policy is not a beautiful formula, but a real development strategy for the country. In the new episode of the BELTA YouTube project "How it was", we will travel to 2017. A year when Belarus surprised with bold initiatives and unexpected decisions, opening up to the world from a new perspective. A year when Alexander Lukashenko, opposing dependency, faced provocations and once again repelled attempts to destabilize the situation in Belarus. A year when the country achieved a breakthrough in industry, thereby fulfilling the dream of the head of state. Want to know how it was? We will tell you everything now.
Why did Belarus introduce a visa-free regime?
2017 began with positive news. In January, a Presidential decree introduced a five-day visa-free regime for citizens of 80 countries. The document was developed for a year and a half and was carefully reviewed by all government bodies, primarily from the perspective of any risks to the country and its allies. However, not all neighbors, apparently, liked this decision by the Belarusian side. "This media campaign, I don't know... Sometimes you read the remarks of these authors and you are amazed. These are people who do not understand the essence or are deliberately escalating the situation. Visa cancellation does not mean cancellation of border control. Border control remains as it was. You will definitely be checked: who you are. Therefore, this outcry and wailing from some neighboring states is simply an attempt to express dissatisfaction from certain forces. We have not violated anything here in terms of our internal legislation. This is our sovereign right. And we have not violated anything in terms of our agreements with other states. Everything we agreed upon, we sacredly observe," stated Alexander Lukashenko, approving the traditional decision on the protection of the State Border.