WASHINGTON, DC – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka is once again flirting with the West, hinting at prisoner releases, talking peace with Kyiv, and signaling a readiness to “reset” ties. But many in the West aren’t buying it – not this time. A sweeping new Atlantic Council report , Minsk in Moscow’s Grip, lays out the case bluntly: Belarus is no longer a sovereign balancing act – it is a Russian-controlled outpost whose leader survives at Vladimir Putin’s discretion. JOIN US ON TELEGRAM