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Belarus announced on Tuesday its retaliatory sanctions against citizens of the Baltic states.
“It is difficult to comment on the illogical emotional gestures of our neighbors in the Baltic countries, sometimes fraught with hysteria. It has expanded the sanctions lists … Well, starting today, as we promised, we are also introducing symmetric retaliatory measures for each of these countries, “Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Hlaz told Interfax.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia extended sanctions on Friday against members of the Belarusian regime responsible for electoral fraud and violence against peaceful protesters.
Lithuania and Estonia have announced that they have added 98 officials to the list, Latvia – 101 people, and includes judges and staff from power structures.
Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius told BNS that the new round of sanctions was spurred by the European Union’s delay in introducing joint sanctions and the inauguration of the unrecognized Western President Aliaksandr Lukashenko last week. pass.
In late August, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia imposed sanctions on Lukashenko and several dozen other officials.
The president on retaliatory sanctions on Belarus: that was to be expected
President Gitan Nauseda says retaliatory sanctions against Belarus could have been expected because “all the rhetoric of the regime was militant and aggressive from the beginning.”
“It was really to be expected, because all the rhetoric of the regime was militant and aggressive from the beginning. We introduced sanctions only when it became clear that normal hunting became impossible, ”G. Nausėda told reporters in Jonava district, Rukla, on Tuesday.
The Lithuanian leader also said that Belarus’ decision to impose retaliatory sanctions on citizens of the Baltic states would not stop the European Union’s efforts to impose sanctions on the regime.
“There is a retaliatory step to show that we also have the tools that they have put in place, let them do it. “This will not scare us, much less prevent the European Union from making mature decisions,” said the president.
According to G. Nausėda, if EU sanctions are not imposed on Belarus, “the credibility, image and confidence of the European Union as capable of solving geopolitical problems will be significantly reduced.”
“These sanctions, which we have imposed, were based on the fact that after using other alternatives, we see no other way to force the regime to react to what it is doing and draw your attention to the fact that such actions in the center from Europe are not justified, “he added. President.
President G. Nausėda discussed the issue of sanctions against Belarus with French leader Emmanuel Macron, who was visiting Lithuania.
Macron said he hoped the European Union would announce sanctions against the Belarusian regime in the near future for electoral fraud and violence against peaceful protesters.
“Europe is taking measures, it is pressing, we will adopt sanctions in the coming days or weeks. In this way, we will influence the regime that is coming to an end,” said the French leader on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, E. Macron met with Sviatlana Cichanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian opposition, in Vilnius.
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