Slovenian Foreign Minister: Sanctions to be extended

Karl Erjavec made this remark after an informal meeting of European diplomats in Copenhagen.

The minister said referring to unofficial information that an issue of sanctions against Belarusian companies directors and businessmen support the Lukashenka regime would be discussed in two weeks at a working meeting of foreign ministers, Radio Svaboda reports with a link to the Slovenian media. Karl Erjavec noted Yury Chyzh (Yuri Chizh), a partner of Slovenian company Rico, would not be included in the list.

The minister said in his speech in Copenhagen the EU needed a common strategy in relation to economic sanctions and the sanctions should not affect the interests of only one EU country.

Erjavec meant an incident at the EU foreign affairs ministers meeting in February, when Ljubljana blocked putting Chyzh on the list of Belarusian officials subject to sanctions. The official reason was that Chyzh was the only businessman on the list, but not the only businessman backing the Lukashenka regime.

“We support an idea of imposing sanctions to prevent human rights violations, but we should have a consistent approach to make the economic sanctions, if they are agreed on, effective,” Karl Erjavec said.

Unlike the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, the so called Gymnich meeting in Copenhagen does not take official decisions.