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Bloomberg

European Union leaders cleared the way for sanctions on Belarus over an August 9 presidential election that the bloc says was neither free nor fair.
The penalties are due to take the form of asset freezes and travel bans against around 40 Belarusian officials implicated in alleged fraud in the election and in a post-ballot crackdown on domestic protesters.
The measures will be triggered at once, EU summit chair Charles Michel told reporters.
The 27 national leaders achieved a breakthrough in the early hours of Friday when Cyprus lifted its veto, bolstering the bloc’s efforts to pressure Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after a contested election result.
Putin backs Lukashenko with US$1.5 billion loan
“We have decided today to implement the sanctions” against Belarus, Michel said after the deal. “This is a clear signal that we send. We are credible.”
Meanwhile, the Belarusian foreign ministry said on Friday it had compiled a list of people barred from entering Belarus in retaliation against sanctions imposed by the EU.
The ministry said the list would not be made public.
Cyprus had refused for weeks to sign off on the Belarus penalties unless other member states agreed to expand a blacklist against Turkey over its controversial natural gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.
Other governments including Germany were wary of provoking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who plays a key role in containing illegal migration into Europe, and the deadlock dented the bloc’s push to exert more geopolitical clout.
In February, the EU imposed asset freezes and travel bans on two employees of Turkish Petroleum Corp. in response to Turkey’s gas hunt off Cyprus. A Cypriot proposal to include Turkish entities and add individuals to that blacklist has been held up since June.


As part of the EU summit deal, the leaders kept alive the threat of more sanctions – including broader, economy-focused measures – against Turkey should it fail to de-escalate tensions with Cyprus.
“We would have a toolbox, all necessary tools, at our disposal,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. “We can trigger them immediately.”
The Kremlin on Friday criticised new EU sanctions on its ally, describing the move as a sign of political weakness.
“In general we are very, very negative about the sanctions policy... this is more a manifestation of weakness than strength,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term at a surprise ceremony on September 23 despite hundreds of thousands of opponents turning out at weekly demonstrations across the country.
Western governments including Germany and Lithuania have refused to recognise his victory, while exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she is the legitimate winner of the election.
Another Belarusian activist detained as Nobel laureate denounces ‘terror’
Lukashenko himself will be excluded from the forthcoming EU blacklist of Belarusian officials, according to Michel, who said the formal process for enacting the penalties will begin on Friday.
The EU has deployed trade and financial sanctions against Belarus for years in a bid to prod Lukashenko to upgrade democratic standards after 26 years in office.
Since 2004, the EU has frozen the assets and imposed a travel ban on four people linked to the disappearances of two opposition politicians, a businessman and a journalist.
Since 2007, it has suspended tariff benefits as a result of labour rights violations.
And since 2011, it has imposed an arms embargo.
In early 2016, the bloc removed 170 individuals and three entities from its blacklist after the previous year saw all Belarusian political prisoners released and presidential elections held peacefully.


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Belarus

EU clears way for Belarus election fraud sanctions but spares President Lukashenko

Belarusian policemen detain a protester during a rally in Minsk. Photo: EPA

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Photo: EPA/Belta

Alexander Lukashenko inaugurated as president of Belarus in secret ceremony

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes the oath of office during his inauguration ceremony at the Palace of Independence in Minsk on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes his oath of office during his inauguration ceremony at the Palace of the Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Lukashenko of Belarus has assumed his sixth term of office in an inauguration ceremony that wasn't announced in advance. State news agency BelTA reports that the ceremony will take place with several hundred top government official present. (Sergei Sheleg/Pool Photo via AP)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signs the inauguration certificate during his inauguration ceremony at the Palace of the Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Lukashenko of Belarus has assumed his sixth term of office in an inauguration ceremony that wasn't announced in advance. State news agency BelTA reports that the ceremony will take place with several hundred top government official present. (Andrei Stasevich/Pool Photo via AP)

epa08690512 A woman holds a placard depicting Constitution of Belarus to protest against the presidential inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, Belarus, 23 September 2020. President Lukashenko's inauguration took place on 23 September amid ongoing opposition protests demanding new elections under international observation. EPA-EFE/STR

Alexander Lukashenko orders Belarus army to defend borders as protests continue

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a rally in his support on Saturday. He has rejected the idea of holding another ballot and dismissed calls to resign. Photo: AP

epa08616138 Belarusian opposition candidate for President, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya attends a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, 21 August 2020. Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania with her family following the 09 August Belarus presidential election. Opposition in Belarus alleges poll-rigging and police violence at protests following election results claiming that president Lukashenko had won a landslide victory in the 09 August elections. EPA-EFE/STR

People hold flowers as they attend an opposition demonstration to protest against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus August 22, 2020. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

People listen to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a rally in his support in Grodno, Belarus, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. On Saturday, Lukashenko renewed the allegation during a visit to a military exercise in the Grodno region, near the borders of Poland and Lithuania. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)

epa08618164 Belarusian President-elect Alexander Lukashenko (C) and Belarus Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin (R) visit the training ground of the 6th separate guards mechanized brigade near Grodno, Belarus, 22 August 2020. Lukashenko said that events in the country are proceeding according to the 'plan of color revolutions' with the participation of 'an external factor'. EPA-EFE/ANDREI STASEVICH / BELTA / POOL MANDATORY CREDIT

Another Belarusian activist detained as Nobel laureate condemns ‘terror against the people’

Lawyer Maxim Znak has been seized in a systematic campaign by the government of President Alexander Lukashenko. Photo: AP

epaselect epa08656218 Nobel Literature Prize winner, and Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich speaks to journalists at her home in Minsk, Belarus, 09 September 2020. According to reports, Alexievich, one of Belarus opposition leaders, called for journalist for safety reasons as non identified people were trying to get into her home. Alexievich also said that some members of opposition Coordination Committe of Belarus are already arrested and others are on exile and she is afraid for herself and her country. EPA-EFE/STRINGER

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya interacts with supporters in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020.The visit to Warsaw by Tsikhanouskaya is one way in which the Polish government is seeking to support the Belarusian opposition in its struggle for change after a disputed election. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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Sanctions to be imposed on 40 Belarusian officials implicated in alleged fraud in the election and in a crackdown on protesters
The West has refused to recognise Lukashenko’s victory, while an exiled opposition leader said she is the legitimate winner of the election



Sanctions to be imposed on 40 Belarusian officials implicated in alleged fraud in the election and in a crackdown on protesters.


European Union

Human rights