Belorussian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko’s violent crackdown on protests against fraudulent elections is throwing a wrench into an effort by the United States and NATO allies to peel away Russia’s closest ally.

“If Lukashenko beats his own people, if he continues on what he’s doing these days, then he is in Russia’s orbit anyway,” a Baltic official said. “I don’t see the point in speaking with him, engaging him, if he is beating people so brutally.”