New Package Of Sanctions Against Regime In Belarus Discussed In Washington

Negotiations with the leadership of the State Department have been held by the head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry.

Illegal migration and the preparation of new EU sanctions against the Belarusian authorities were discussed during the talks of Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs and Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Washington on October 25th, reported the press service of Latvian Foreign Ministry.

According to Rinkēvičs, Aliaksandr Lukashenka has retained power thanks to Russia.

"We are opposing on the border with Belarus the hybrid aggression of the Lukashenka regime, aimed at destabilizing the situation in the EU member-states," he said. "This is an asymmetrical response to the EU sanctions. The Lukashenka regime organizes and facilitates coming of citizens from third countries to the borders of the EU, which, given the climatic conditions, puts them at risk".

According to Rinkēvičs, Belarusian officials must take full responsibility for what is happening and put an end to the unacceptable practice of using persons in need of protection for political purposes. At the same time it is necessary to continue the policy of sanctions and support of civil society.

"The European Union is working on the fifth package of sanctions. EU members are discussing sanctions against Belavia, other state enterprises and officials involved in the operation on the external border of the Union," said Rinkēvičs.

On June 21, the EU Council approved the fourth package of sanctions against Belarus. The EU has approved the introduction of sanctions against 78 individuals and eight entities and is going to consider sectoral sanctions against Belarus this week. The EU has significantly toughened its position after the incident with the Ryanair plane in May.

During his speech at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 21st, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda and President of Latvia Egils Levits put the blame for the situation with the illegal migrants on the Eastern borders of the EU on the Belarusian authorities. They condemned the practice of using foreign nationals in vulnerable position for "hybrid attack" and called on the UN countries to work together to solve the migration problems.

According to the head of "Open Russia" movement, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Belarusian authorities are not acting independently in creating the migration crisis in Lithuania and are seeking to do the Kremlin a favor.

Due to the increased flow of illegal migration from the Belarusian territory, Lithuania has declared a state of emergency throughout the country, and Latvia and Poland have introduced a state of emergency in the areas bordering on Belarus.