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EU foreign ministers to discuss additional sanctions against Belarus

The European Union’s foreign ministers will discuss the possibility of introducing additional sanctions against Belarus at their meeting in Brussels on May 23.

The issue was formally put on the meeting’s agenda but it was not immediately clear what new sanctions could be discussed. The results of the meeting are expected to be announced at a news conference scheduled to be held on Monday afternoon.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, called on May 11 for "strong sanctions" against Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime.

The Brussels-based online newspaper EUobserver said last week that the EU may soon introduce economic sanctions against individuals and companies in Belarus in response to prison sentences handed out to opponents of Mr. Lukashenka’s government. The possible sanctions are expected to target, among others, state petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim, petroleum product exporter Triple, potash giant Belaruskali and Beltechexport, an exporter of weapons and military equipment.

Agence France-Presse reported on May 20 that the European Union’s member states had agreed to extend the list of Belarusians subject to travel bans and asset freezes over the ongoing crackdown on government opponents. The report said that 13 people, including public prosecutors and judges in post-election protesters’ trials, would be added to the 176-person list.

The Interfax-Zapad news agency said on May 12 with reference to an unnamed source in the Presidential Administration that the Belarusian authorities were preparing to impose a foreign travel ban on some 200 prominent opposition figures who made calls for EU economic sanctions against Belarus. In addition, the authorities consider expelling EU ambassadors in retaliation for possible economic sanctions, the source said.

However, Andrey Savinykh, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, said the following day that “speaking about the introduction of retaliatory measures by Belarus against the EU is not only premature but also not constructive.” According to him, the “main position of the Belarusian side is that Belarus and the EU have a possibility to return to a normal dialogue based on the principles of neighborly relations and mutual respect.”