Foreign Affairs Council adopts new sanctions against the Belarusian regime

Yesterday 21 June, Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets attended the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, where foreign ministers agreed on imposing sanctions on 78 Belarusian individuals and 8 entities. The decision was made in response to widespread human rights violations in Belarus and the forced landing of a civilian plane in Minsk on its way from Greece to Lithuania in late May.

'As we can see from the state hijacking of the Ryanair plane a month ago and the arrest of an opposition journalist on board, the Belarusian regime has become a threat to not only its own people but also European Union nationals. The restrictive measures target the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko and its associates who have been committing human rights violations for an extended period. For maximum impact, it is crucial to coordinate our steps on Belarus with the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other like-minded states,' the foreign minister said.

'We must continue supporting the civil society of Belarus and their aspirations towards democratic elections, which was also discussed at the breakfast with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ahead of the meeting. There are good options available, such as offering scholarships to students who are unable to continue their studies in Belarus, providing psychological assistance to those who have suffered under the regime, or supporting independent journalists in Belarus,' she added.

The meeting also covered Iraq, focusing on the fragile security situation and upcoming elections. 'It is important for us to support the ambitions of the government of Iraq to ensure a stable and safe country through reforms. It is vital for the European Union to find ways of helping Iraq carry out free and fair elections. We support sending an election monitoring mission to Iraq if the security situation allows,' Liimets said.

The foreign ministers also discussed closer relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, and were briefed on the activities of the High Representative Josep Borrell in Lebanon, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The meeting also touched upon Russia, the Middle East Peace Process, and highlighted the need to move forward with the European Union and Turkey cooperation agenda.

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