Lukashenka awards order to EU-blacklisted businessman Tsernawski

Alyaksandr Lukashenka on Friday bestowed the Order of Honor on Anatol Tsernawski, a businessman blacklisted by the European Union over his alleged ties with the Belarusian ruler.

The president of a transnational corporation called Russian-Ukrainian Oil Society received the award for a "significant personal contribution to the strengthening of trade and economic ties between Belarus and Russia," said the presidential press office.

Mr. Tsernawski, as well as some companies belonging to him have been under EU sanctions since March 2012.

On November 1, Lukashenka also conferred the Order of Honor on Ali Riza Arslan, chairman of the board of Turkey's EMSAS Construction, for a "significant personal contribution to the implementation of Belarusian-Turkish investment projects, the strengthening of cooperation between Belarus and Turkey."

EMSAS Construction has redeveloped the Soviet-era Kastrychnitski Hotel into President Hotel a hundred meters away from the Presidential Administration's offices in downtown Minsk.

In addition, Lukashenka awarded the People's Friendship Order to Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, for his "big personal contribution to the development and strengthening of friendly relations and military-technical cooperation between Belarus and China," said the press office.