Belarusian officials announced on Friday that they were imposing sanctions on the European Union and threatened to review the country's diplomatic relations, with dozens of Belarusian officials accused of rigging the presidential election. In response to EU sanctions on allegations of cracking down on peaceful protesters.
The European Union decided early Friday to
impose sanctions on about 40 officials, excluding President Alexander
Lukashenko, who was re-elected in August in a vote rigged by the opposition.
In response, Belarus's Foreign Ministry
issued a statement announcing sanctions against European officials. "As of
today, Belarus has imposed a list of retaliatory sanctions," the statement
said. The ministry did not disclose the list and did not provide details on how
many personnel were involved.
If the EU moves further "to raise
sanctions", it could have "more serious consequences", such as
Belarus withdrawing from joint programs and projects or reforming its
diplomatic relations with the bloc.
"Belarus is always against
confrontation in words and deeds. We are for dialogue and understanding. But as
an independent state, we are also committed, although naturally to our national
defense. We will regret not responding to friendly measures. Interests,
"the statement read.
The official results of the August 9
presidential election were handed over’ to Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus
for 26 years with an iron fist, who could win 80 percent of the vote. Her main
challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, received only 10%. He and his supporters
refused to justify the results, and large-scale protests shook Belarus, with
thousands taking to the streets demanding Lukashenko's resignation.
Immediately of the votes. Authorities
detained the brutal reaction to protests of thousands of people after the
police and stems, rubber bullets and injured many good grenades, which faced
international outrage.
The government has reduced the violence,
but has kept up pressure to detain hundreds of protesters and prosecute
high-profile activists. Many members of the Coordinating Council, who were
urged’ by the opposition to transfer power, were forced to leave the country.
Tsikhanouskaya is currently in exile in
Lithuania. His top colleague, Maria Kolesnikova, is in prison for endangering
state security and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
"The West does not benefit much from
the current crisis in Belarus," Artyom Shraybman, a political analyst
based in Minsk, told the Associated Press. "Lukashenko does not care about
the West's views on his actions."
Shraybman described the EU sanctions as
"minor" and "symbolic". "EU countries adopt these
sanctions only for themselves, to show that they are not abusive and that it is
a matter of human rights for them," he said.
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