Why Macron Called Lukashenko for the First Time Since 2022

A rare phone conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has drawn attention across Europe because it broke a long diplomatic silence between the two countries.

According to reports from Belarusian officials, the leaders spoke by phone on May 24, marking their first known contact since February 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full‑scale invasion of Ukraine. The Belarusian side said the conversation happened at France’s initiative and focused on regional issues and Belarus’s relations with the European Union and France.

While the Élysée Palace has not publicly detailed the reasons behind the call, the timing places it within a tense geopolitical moment for Eastern Europe.

What Was Discussed During the Call

Details about the discussion remain limited. Belarusian statements say the two leaders talked about:

• Regional security issues
• Belarus’s relations with the European Union
• Bilateral relations between Minsk and Paris

No agreements or concrete outcomes were publicly announced. Reports note that France has not yet provided its own detailed readout of the conversation, leaving the precise objectives of the call uncertain.

The First Contact Since the Start of the Ukraine War

The call stands out because top‑level contact between France and Belarus largely stopped after early 2022.

Macron and Lukashenko last spoke on February 26, 2022, days after Russia invaded Ukraine. During that earlier conversation, Macron urged Belarus to distance itself from Russia’s military operation and push for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarusian territory.

Belarus’s role in the conflict—allowing Russia to use its territory during the invasion—made direct engagement with Lukashenko politically sensitive for European leaders.

Why France Might Be Reopening Dialogue Now

Although France has not officially explained why Macron initiated the call, the timing coincides with rising security concerns in the region.

Recent reports highlight:

• Warnings from Ukraine about unusual military activity near the Belarusian border.
• Joint military exercises involving Russia and Belarus, which have heightened tensions with Kyiv and NATO members.

Against this backdrop, the call may reflect an attempt to maintain communication channels during a period of regional instability. Some analysts view such contacts as a form of crisis diplomacy—keeping lines open even with governments that Western countries strongly oppose.

The Deep Freeze in EU–Belarus Relations

Relations between Belarus and the European Union have been strained for years, and France’s relationship with Minsk is shaped by that broader conflict.

The crisis began after Belarus’s August 2020 presidential election, which European governments and institutions said was neither free nor fair. Mass protests followed, and the government’s crackdown triggered international condemnation and sanctions.

Subsequent developments worsened the relationship, including:

• Continuing repression of opposition figures and protesters
• The forced diversion of a Ryanair flight in 2021
• Belarus’s alignment with Russia during the war in Ukraine

The EU responded with multiple rounds of sanctions targeting Belarusian officials and sectors of the economy.

Lukashenko’s Parallel Outreach to Ukraine

The diplomatic context is further complicated by Lukashenko’s own attempts to position Belarus as a possible intermediary in the conflict.

He has recently suggested the possibility of meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even as Kyiv remains wary of Belarus’s military cooperation with Russia.

Ukraine has strengthened defenses along its northern border and says it is closely monitoring developments on the Belarusian side.

A Small Signal in a Larger Diplomatic Pattern

The Macron–Lukashenko call does not necessarily indicate a thaw in relations between Belarus and Europe. Instead, it appears to reflect a pragmatic approach often used during major conflicts: maintaining limited communication even with adversarial governments.

France and other Western countries continue to support Ukraine while occasionally reopening narrow diplomatic channels when regional security concerns increase.

For now, the conversation stands mainly as a symbolic reopening of dialogue—a reminder that even during deep geopolitical disputes, quiet diplomatic contact can still occur.