Belarus hopes that the European Union will fully abolish its sanctions as soon as possible, the foreign ministry’s spokesman, Dzmitry Mironchyk, said at Thursday’s briefing when asked to comment on the possible suspension of the EU’s restrictive measures.
“We comment on specific events and facts,” Mr. Mironchyk said. “Our stance on anti-Belarusian sanctions is well-known. They have proved their inefficiency and futility. We’re waiting for their complete abolition and hope that this will happen as soon as possible,” news agency BelaPAN quotes Mironchyk as saying.
The Council of the European Union made a decision to suspend sanctions against Belarus for the period of four months, France’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir said on Monday.
“The decision on the future of the sanctions needs to be taken by the end of October,” Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said.
A total of 175 individuals, including Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his sons, are currently subject to entry bans and all of them plus 18 economic entities are subject to asset freezes within the EU.
