European Union Imposes Sanctions Against Lukashenka's Regime

The sanctions will be introduced today.

From October 2, the European Union will introduce sanctions against about 40 officials of Lukashenka's entourage responsible for rigging of elections and violation of human rights. This is reported by TASS with reference to the statement of the head of the European Council Charles Michel at the press conference following the first day of the EU summit in Brussels, which began on Thursday and ended after midnight.

"We decided to implement the sanctions that we agreed upon in August. This means that tomorrow (Friday, October 2 - ed.) a black list of about 40 names will be implemented by written procedure," - he said, noting that Lukashenka is not yet on the list.

In turn, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the EU had not imposed sanctions against Lukashenka, as it would undermine Brussels' demand to start a dialogue with the opposition mediated by the OSCE and to release political prisoners.

"This [sanctions] would have given Lukashenka legitimate grounds to refuse to comply with those conditions," - Macron stressed.

Speaking about imposition of sanctions the head of the European Council Charles Michel pointed out: "We insist that the people of Belarus have the right to determine their future. And we also intend to continue making every effort to support such important values as freedom of the press, freedom of speech and civil society".

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that "those responsible for the repression of demonstrations and opposition will not be left unpunished".

The resolution on results of the summit of October 1 was published on the website of the European Council where the position on Belarus was also expressed:

"The European Council condemns unacceptable violence by the Belarusian authorities against peaceful demonstrators, as well as intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detentions after the presidential elections, the results of which the Council does not recognize.

The European Council fully supports the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their President through new free and fair elections without external interference. The European Council calls on the Belarusian authorities to put an end to violence and repression, release all detainees and political prisoners, respect freedom of the media and civil society, and initiate a comprehensive national dialogue. (...) the European Council also calls on the European Commission to prepare a comprehensive economic support plan for democratic Belarus.

We remind that on September 29, Great Britain and Canada announced about imposition of sanctions against Lukashenka and seven other officials.