US Under Secretary Victoria Nuland announces slapping new sanctions on Lukashenka regime
The United States may introduce new sanctions against Belarusian officials next week, US Under Secretary for Political Affairs of the Department of State Victoria Nuland stated on Thursday, when virtually participating at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum.
When asked about some ‘real policy options’ that the US administration can take regarding the current crisis in Belarus, the top diplomat recalled that in the context of Wednesday’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Geneva, President Joseph Biden made clear that the US ‘profoundly disagrees’ with Russia over issue of Belarus.
“I do not think that either president disputed that we come at Belarus very differently, and you know, President Biden made absolutely clear that what happened with the downing of the aircraft pulling the dissident off the plane and later parading him with clear bruises all over him was just lawless. We believe that the only way to respect the rights and choice of the Belarusian people to have a truly free and fair election clearly Mr Lukashenka is afraid of doing that. We have already imposed a number of sanctions, so has Europe, and I think you can watch this space next week for more,” she said.
On June 16, President Biden admitted having discussed the situation in Belarus with the Russian leader.
“We agreed to pursue diplomacy related to the Minsk Agreement. And I shared our concerns about Belarus. He didn’t disagree with what happened; he just has a different perspective of what to do about it,” he said.
On the back of the talks between the presidents of the United States and Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Echo of Moscow on Thursday morning that the parties failed to bring closer their positions on Belarus.
On June 3, the United States re-imposed blocking sanctions on nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises that previously received benefits under a series of Treasury Department general licenses. “As a result of this measure, U.S. persons will be prohibited from engaging in transactions with these entities, their property or interests in their property,” the statement said.
