European foreign ministers approved fresh sanctions against dozens of Belarusian officials and have compiled a list of economic measures meant to "hurt the economy" as the bloc ratchets up pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko.
In total, eight entities and 78 Belarusian individuals, including members of Lukashenko's family, judges, prosecutors, police officers and prominent business figures, were hit with asset freezes and travel bans in response to "the escalation of serious human rights violations in Belarus and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition and journalists."
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Seven individuals, including Transport Minister Aliaksei Auramenka and Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin, were targeted for their alleged involvement in the "forced and unlawful" grounding of a Ryanair flight traveling from Greece to Lithuania on May 23.
A fighter jet was used to divert the passenger plane to Minsk under the pretext of a bomb threat. Once on the ground, authorities swiftly arrested dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, sparking widespread outrage.
Raman Pratasevich gives a statement after his detention in Minsk. / Reuters
The sanctions were carried out in coordination with the U.S., the UK and Canada but did not go through the United Nations framework.
"We are united in our deep concern regarding the Lukashenko regime's continuing attacks on human rights, fundamental freedoms and international law," the allies said in a joint statement.
China said it opposed such unilateral measures.
"China respects the development path chosen independently by Belarus in light of its national conditions," a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said. "China believes that the Belarusian people can maintain political stability and social tranquility through their own efforts and hopes that the international community will play a constructive role in this regard."
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. /Reuters
This is the fourth round of EU sanctions following a crackdown on protesters, following last August's presidential elections, which were widely viewed as fraudulent. In total, 166 people have been sanctioned, along with 15 entities.
Economic sanctions on the way
The EU foreign ministers, who met in Luxembourg on Monday, also readied a raft of economic sanctions meant to "hurt" Belarusian finances and "tighten the thumbscrews" – as Austria described it – on Lukashenko, who has thus far been impervious to the EU's punitive measures.
"It is the way to influence the behavior of those responsible for what is happening in Belarus," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the meeting. "The economic sanctions ... will influence the behavior because they will create damage to the economics of the country."
The sanctions are expected to hit important parts of the Belarusian economy, including the export of oil, tobacco and potash – a main ingredient in fertilizer. The EU imported $1.5 billion worth of chemicals from Belarus last year, including potash and more than $1 billion worth of crude oil and related products.
"We will no longer just sanction individuals. We will now also impose sectoral sanctions, meaning that we will now get to work on the economic areas that are of particular significance for Belarus and for the regime's income," said Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Adding: "We want to make very, very clear to Lukashenko that there is no going back."
EU leaders are expected to endorse the economic sanctions at a leaders' summit in Brussels later this week.