EU Leaders have agreed during a Council of Ministers meeting on 15 February 2016 that the targetted sanctions on 170 Belarus officials will be lifted. The sanctions already had been suspended before. The move comes following an improvement in EU-Belarus relations following the troubles in the Ukraine during which Belarus played a mediating role. While not all sanctions were lifted, it means the end of the isolation of Belarus, that has been faced by increasing sanctions since 2006. In the following statement by the Council of Ministers, the Ministers stated "There is an opportunity for EU-Belarus relations to develop on a more positive agenda and that progress in a variety of fields can better be achieved through enhanced channels of communication".

On the 15th of February, the first Chinese cargo train to be used in China’s "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) initiative, arrived in Tehran. The development is quite significant for Iranian businesses, since China is Tehran’s biggest trading partner and top energy market. The plan is to extend the railway up to Europe, linking Central Asia to the Mediterranean Sea via the Persian Gulf. After the Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe represents China’s "bridge to Europe" and better relations with CEE states can boost overall relations with the EU. Already on the 26th of November 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hosted the fourth annual "16 + 1" meeting in Suzhou (China) which brings together leaders from China and 16 CEE countries, forming a platform where future deals are made, concerning for instance the infrastructural set up of the plan. Up to 60 countries may be included in the OBOR across three different continents.

After Interim-President Catherine Samba-Panza delayed plans for the October 2015 elections due to violence in the capital Bangui, the December 2015 elections were the first step towards the restoration of democracy, which was disturbed by ongoing fights from 2013 onwards. In the first round of the presidential elections, there were over 20 candidates. The former Prime Minister Anicet-Georges Dologuélé won with 24% of the votes while former Prime Minister Faustin-Archange Touadéra came in second, receiving 19% of the votes. Both politicians faced each other in the second round on 14 February 2016. Touadera was declared the winner with 63% of the votes.

The struggle for power continues in Venezuela as the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) stated it seeks to oust current President Nicolás Maduro. The MUD currently dominates the Parliament following earlier Parliamentary Elections in December 2015. Maduro however is continuing his rule by decree after declaring emergency powers earlier in January, something which was not approved by Parliament, but got overruled later by the Supreme Court of Venezuela. The court is composed of members appointed by the current President and former President Hugo Chavez. It did not agree to install several representatives of the MUD before to prevent it having a two-third majority. An impeachment of the President could be asked in a Referendum from April 2016 onwards, 3 years after the installment of the President. 4 million signatures would be needed for this.    

After the Vatican had tried for decades to meet with Russian patriarchs despite religious and political tensions, Roman Catholic Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill have met in Cuba on the 12th of February. Their joint declaration urged the international community to contribute to civil peace, pointing towards the fact that wealthy nations cannot remain indifferent to millions of migrants and refugees knocking on their doors. The meeting can be seen as a diplomatic victory for Pope Francis’ door-opening foreign policy. Critics however have warned about the close ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin. Patriarch Kirill and President Putin, who are close, could use the Pope to boost their popularity in the West, coming at a time of increased tensions between the West and Russia over Syria and Ukraine.

During a symbolic meeting in Rome, the Foreign Ministers of the 6 founding members of the EU (back then the ECSC) acknowledged the move towards a two-speed Europe the EU is heading towards and agreed to commit to further integration among the core members of the EU. The ministers stated that the current crises the EU is facing requires more integration, not less, and reiterated their commitment to the principle of ''ever closer union'', even if this would lead to a Europe of multiple speeds.