What Belarus sanctions revealed on 25 December 2020

What was the pressure on Minsk and Moscow's reach abroad like in the days before 25 December 2020? Two reported developments in the preceding days offer a view.

On 23 December 2020, the Trump administration imposed additional sanctions on Belarusian officials and four offices, citing human rights abuses during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. The measure sat within the international reaction to the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and the protests that followed. For Ukraine and its neighbours, it showed Washington keeping up pressure on Minsk even as the US administration's term was drawing to a close.

A second development, from 21 December 2020, involved Russia in a different region. Rwanda deployed what it called a protection force to the Central African Republic after its peacekeepers were attacked by rebels advancing on the capital, Bangui. The Rwandan and Central African Republic governments accused former President François Bozizé of backing the rebels and plotting a coup, which he denied. Russia also sent troops and heavy weaponry to support the government.

The two episodes are separate. Together, they show sanctions being used against officials in one country while Russia committed military resources to support a government elsewhere.