EU approves new sanctions against Belarus

The foreign ministers of the EU countries have approved a new package of sanctions against Belarus, the HEAD of the European Council, Charles Michel, said on Twitter.

“Today, the EU is sending another strong signal of support to the people of Belarus by introducing additional restrictive measures,” he said.

Through the new sanctions, the EU is calling on MINSK to "release all political prisoners, end further repression and start a comprehensive national dialogue," Michel said.

On May 25, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the European Union would expand sanctions against Belarus. The reason was the incident with the Ryanair plane, which was heading from Athens to Vilnius, but after the bomb was reported, it landed urgently in Minsk. Information about the mining was not confirmed, but during their stay in Belarus, the former editor-in-chief of the opposition Nexta TELEGRAM channel and his Russian girlfriend Sofya Sapega were removed from the board. Later, the young people were arrested, Sapega admitted during interrogation that she was the administrator of the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel, which posted the data of employees of the internal affairs bodies.

Under the new EU sanctions against Belarus, 71 people and seven organizations will fall, Bloomberg sources reported. Those affected by the restrictions include judges and prosecutors who were involved in sentencing protesters, parliamentarians, government and law enforcement officials, and business leaders close to the government, the agency learned. Those who fall under the sanctions will be banned from entering the EU, and their assets will be frozen.

The list could also include companies and exporters operating in various sectors, which, according to Brussels, support the government of President ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, Bloomberg sources said. Thus, new restrictions should hit the sectors of the economy that are important for Belarus - the production of potash fertilizers, the oil industry, the sale of bonds, REUTERS reported with reference to European diplomats.

The Belarusian authorities insist that the plane's crew independently made the decision to make an emergency landing in Minsk in accordance with international aviation safety rules. According to the President of the Republic, Alexander Lukashenko, Western countries are using the incident with the Ryanair liner to “rock the situation to the level of August last year,” when protests began in Belarus over the results of the presidential election.