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MINSK, Belarus As relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated, there's one country that's reaping rewards Belarus, whose authoritarian leader was once dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by the United States and the European Union.

President Alexander Lukashenko is relishing his new role as broker of the Ukraine peace talks, and his country of 10 million people is profiting handsomely by reprocessing or simply repackaging European food banned by Moscow in retaliation to Western sanctions. In the most stunning example, exports of sea fish from the landlocked nation have doubled during the last three months a sure sign that something curious is afoot.

Food exports to Russia have been a major hard currency-earner for cash-strapped Belarus, worth $5.7 billion in 2013. This year's figures aren't available yet, but a sharp rise in imports of food from Europe signaled that the country, which is sandwiched between Russia and EU members Poland and Lithuania, quickly took advantage of Moscow's ban.

"Lukashenko hopes to turn Belarus into a bridge between the East and the West, for which both sides will have to pay," said Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent Minsk-based analyst. "Lukashenko loves a proverb: A friendly calf sucks two mothers."

With Lukashenko friendly with the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia, Belarus has been able to serve as neutral ground for peace talks over the situation in Ukraine. Both Russia and the West would like Belarus to continue playing host to the negotiations.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin now in the West's bad books, Lukashenko is no longer a prime target of criticism despite his continuing crackdown on dissent and independent media. "Belarus is undergoing a transformation from a pariah to a respectable player," Klaskovsky said.

Lukashenko is looking to take advantage of that. His government is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund on a prospective new loan, and Lukashenko's economics minister recently attended a London conference intended to lure foreign investors.

"Lukashenko realizes that the Kremlin subsidies will dwindle significantly because of Russia's economic downturn, so he's looking for other financial sources," said Yaroslav Romanchuk, the head of Mises Research Center in Minsk.

The Belarusian leader, who has been in power for two decades, is preparing to seek re-election in a vote set for next November, and the country desperately needs cash. Next year, Belarus has to pay $4 billion in foreign debts, a significant amount for a nation that only has $5.8 billion in hard currency reserves.

"Lukashenko will make an imitation of democracy like he did every time when he badly needed cash," said Stanislav Shushkevich, Belarus' first post-Soviet leader turned opposition politician. "The West has quite a short memory."

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Belarus tries to cash in on its new role as bridge between Russia and West