David Kramer: We Need to Deal With Sources of Support for the Regime in Russia and the UAE

The United States and the European Union need to act more strictly.

Former Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, former head of Freedom House David Kramer believes the current sanctions against Aliaksandr Lukashenka's regime are not enough and do not work as they should be. He stated this in an interview with Belsat.

"If they worked, the situation in Belarus would improve. If one goes back to August 2020, when Lukashenka stole the election, it took both the EU and the U.S. quite a while to impose the first package of sanctions. The result was a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters by Lukashenka and his goons. However, after the hijacking of the Ryanair flight last May, a number of Europeans realized the threat Lukashenka posed not only to the Belarusian people but to anyone who might be near, say, on a plane with a critic or activist from Belarus."

Kramer believes it's time to adopt sanctions against Russian sources of support for Lukashenka.

"We have to deal with every source that supports Lukashenka. Most of them are in Russia. But it's high time to have a serious conversation with our friends and allies in the Persian Gulf, where Lukashenka has also received extensive support - particularly in the UAE.

Given U.S. relations with these countries, it is time to explain to them that, of course, they can support Lukashenka. Or they can be a good friend and ally of the United States. But they cannot do both at the same time. That's why I think the United States and the European Union have to be tougher," he said.

Kramer says Lukashenka is also a threat to Ukraine. He generally believes that the current situation around Ukraine is probably the worst security crisis in Europe since World War II. There is a real threat of a major Russian invasion of Ukraine, "the situation is very serious."

"Putin likes to be in the spotlight, and Lukashenka likes to be his partner in all these potential atrocities that may happen if Russian troops cross the border with Ukraine," he said.