EU Imposes Sanctions on Belarus
EU sanctions were delayed for over a month following the contested election. (Wikimedia Commons)
The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on 40 Belarusian officials on October 2 in response to their alleged rigging of August’s Belarusian presidential election. Britain and Canada have also imposed sanctions on Minsk.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the president since 1994, declared victory in August’s election with 80 percent of the vote. His main challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, disputed the election results and fled into exile. Thousands of people protested after the election as well as his inauguration in late September, but police met them with a violent crackdown. The United States and several European countries refuse to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president.
The EU’s decision to sanction Belarus came after a month-long delay. Decisions are made unanimously in the Union, and Cyprus had blocked sanctions for a while, insisting that the EU should also impose sanctions on Turkey for its oil and gas exploration along Cyprus’ coast. Germany pushed back, fearing these measures would hurt efforts to improve relations between Turkey and Greece. Ultimately, the two sides compromised; the EU agreed to review Turkey’s conduct in December and impose sanctions if the country continues to violate international law.
In response to the sanctions, the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "Officials making such decisions in the EU are well aware that this is a utopia. Any such attacks affect people, their security, welfare and economy. There is no need to be a hypocrite. It is these cynical and inconsiderate decisions that shape the image of the European bureaucracy which scares away and alarms many within the EU and its partners. In this regard, Brexit becomes even more understandable.”
Belarus also implemented counter-sanctions against the EU. The Foreign Ministry of Belarus stated, “Belarus is always, in words and in deeds, against confrontation. We are for dialogue and understanding. But as a sovereign state, we're also determined, albeit not without regret, to respond to unfriendly actions in order to naturally defend our national interests.”
In coordination with the EU, United Kingdom, and Canada, the United States also imposed sanctions on eight Belarusian officials. Russia showed their solidarity with Belarus by sanctioning an assortment of EU officials.