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What diplomacy and sanctions looked like on 24 March 2022
Summary
A look back at a day of claims about Belarusian troops, cautious talk of a ceasefire and new Australian sanctions.
What did the diplomatic picture look like on 24 March 2022, the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine reached its 29th day? Reports from that date point to three threads: Belarus, negotiations and sanctions.
On Belarus, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Belarusian troops were not willing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine. It was a statement about the mood among Belarusian forces, made as Minsk's role in the invasion remained under scrutiny.
On negotiations, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration, said that progress had been made in the ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine. He expressed what he called "cautious optimism" that a ceasefire could be reached to end the war.
On sanctions, Australia imposed measures against Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko and his family for supporting the Russian invasion. It also targeted 22 people described as Russian propagandists and disinformation operatives, including senior editors at Russia Today, the Strategic Culture Foundation, InfoRos and NewsFront.
The economic backdrop
The day before, on 23 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin had demanded that countries he deemed "unfriendly" pay for deliveries of natural gas in roubles. The demand added an economic dimension to the confrontation alongside the diplomacy and sanctions.
Taken together, the reports show a day in which Kyiv spoke of progress at the negotiating table and doubts inside Belarus's forces, while governments abroad kept widening the circle of those penalised for backing the war.
