Donald Trump has signed the US Federal Budget Act – HR 133, which includes the signing of the “Belarus Democracy, Human Rights and Sovereignty Act”. In accordance with it, the powers of the US President are expanded until the introduction of new sanctions in connection with the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere wrote about this in his twitter:
Earlier, on December 21, the Act was approved by the US Senate.
The adopted “Act on Democracy for Belarus” contains the following provisions:
- Calls for new presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in a free and fair manner in accordance with OSCE standards;
- recognizes the Coordination Council as a legitimate institution for participation in the dialogue on the peaceful transfer of power and does not recognize Alyaksandr Lukashenka as “the legally elected leader of Belarus”;
- calls for the release of all political prisoners without any preconditions;
- allows assistance in promoting democracy and developing civil society in Belarus;
- declares that the US does not recognize the inclusion of Belarus in the Union State with Russia;
- supports the striving of the people of Belarus for freedom of religion;
Demands from the United States a strategy to promote broadcasting, Internet freedom and access to information;
provides support to the Belarusian media and representatives of the IT sector.
