Belarus–Netherlands relations

Belarus and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations in 1994. Belarus has an embassy and an honorary consulate in The Hague. The Netherlands is represented in Belarus through its embassy in Warsaw (Poland) and through an honorary consulate in Minsk. Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

There is no direct contact between the two countries at the government level, since the European Union decided in 1997 that such a level of contact lends legitimacy to a government the EU deems not democratically elected. On Dutch request, the European Union decided in October 2008 to soften the visa restrictions; certain other restrictions remain, such as the freezing of Belarus financial assets, and the Dutch government objects to the normalization of relations between Belarus and the European Union.

The Dutch opposed to inviting president Lukashenko to attend a summit in May 2009 in Vienna, where the program was to be launched; such an invitation, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen contends, "would trivialize his dismal human rights record."

While there are no direct governmental contacts, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs says there are no "intensive cultural relations" between the two countries (in fact, Belarus does not even qualify for Dutch financial assistance), there does exist relations between the two countries on various levels.