The European Union will not impose personal sanctions on Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Germany, France and Italy oppose his inclusion in the EU’s “black list”, Die Welt reports, citing its own sources in diplomatic circles.
Paris and Berlin consider it necessary to keep “channels of communication with Lukashenka” open, and sanctions will only prevent this, the authors of the publication claim.
The Baltic states, Poland and several other European countries, on the other hand, are in favor of personal sanctions against Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
A high-ranking source of Die Welt said the official list would be published in the coming weeks.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have already imposed personal sanctions on Lukashenka, members of his administration and security forces. Thirty people have been banned from entering the EU.
The EU’s intention to impose sanctions for rigging the presidential election in Belarus and the actions of the authorities during the protests became known on August 14. According to Die Welt, the list will contain 16 to 19 people.
The media notes that Alyaksandr Lukashenka already was on the European sanctions list from 2011 to 2016 for the violations committed during the 2010 presidential election in Belarus and the subsequent persecution of opposition members.
Presidential elections in Belarus took place on August 9. The Central Election Commission said that more than 80% of voters voted for Lukashenka and more than 10% supported his main rival Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya. According to independent exit polls, Tsikhanouskaya won.
After the polls closed on August 9, mass protests began in the country. Security forces detained several thousand people. Peaceful actions were dispersed by force. Flash grenades and weapons were used against the protesters, hundreds of people were injured and some people died.
