Prime Ministers Of Baltic States Call For Introduction Of New Sanctions Against Lukashenka Regime On EU-Wide Scale

Restrictive measures should also be synchronized with US sanctions.

Due to the fact that the Estonian government decided to impose national sanctions against Belarus and suspend the transit of its oil products through the country, the Prime Ministers of Lithuania and Latvia note that the most effective and fair sanctions for the regime would be general sanctions at the EU level, reports delfi.lt .

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė drew attention to the fact that the transit of Belarusian oil products through Lithuania was stopped before the EU announced sanctions against certain areas of the Belarusian economy last year. According to her, it would be most effective if the sanctions were introduced at the EU level and synchronized with US sanctions.

"Only in this case it would be possible to achieve the best effect, and create as few conditions as possible for those who are looking for exceptions or some loopholes through which sanctions can be circumvented, and in this case the result will be the best and most effective," she said.

Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš also believes that sanctions should be general, but national sanctions will also be discussed.

"Loopholes have been found in the sanctions regime against Lukashenka, but the true path is that EU-wide sanctions need to be added," he said at a press-conference.

"But the most efficient and fair way is that we, the three Baltic states, have already proposed to impose sanctions throughout the EU, which will eliminate the possibility that someone will try to legally circumvent the sanctions of a particular country," he added.

The Estonian government on Thursday decided to impose national sanctions against Belarus and suspend the transit of its oil products through the country.

On February 1 of this year, Lithuanian Railways, by order of the government, stopped the transit of the Belaruskali fertilizers.