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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba
Foreign Minister Kuleba stressed that we are talking about personal sanctions, not economic restrictions.
Ukraine intends to join the EU sanctions against Belarus. This was stated in an interview with BBC News Ukraine by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba.
“I want to look at the final legal decision on who is on this list. But yes, we are determined to join these sanctions, because here we are already talking about issues of policy coherence,” said the foreign minister.
According to him, in this situation it is important to act as a united front.
“We are doing everything in our power to help the people of Belarus in this difficult situation,” Kuleba explained.
He noted that the price of such solidarity for Ukraine is much higher than for EU or NATO countries, because Ukraine is not under the “protection umbrella” of these associations, and the expansion of Russia’s influence in Belarus threatens the security of Ukraine.
At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out that Ukraine plans to join precisely the personal sanctions against certain representatives of the Belarusian leadership. Kiev has no plans to impose economic sanctions or restrict trade.
“Regarding the economic interaction, we do not plan to attack. We do not plan to make Belarus worse, we only wish it the best. We do not plan to have any embargo or trade restrictions,” Kuleba said.
According to him, Belarusian-Ukrainian trade is mutually beneficial, therefore, the introduction of trade sanctions by Ukraine or Belarus, in response, will not be a reasonable step.
This position may change if Russia establishes control over Belarusian companies.
“So you have to sit down and analyze each important contract, see if additional risks have appeared, because we have high cooperation in the military trade sector,” explained the minister.
Furthermore, Ukraine will not reduce the level of diplomatic representation in Minsk. Kuleba noted that he sees no reason to break diplomatic relations or to downgrade Ukraine’s presence in Belarus to the level of a temporary lawyer, as is the case with Russia.
Let us remind you that on October 2, the European Union presented a list of sanctions against 40 Belarusian officials. Some 40 Belarusian officials accused of violence against the opposition and falsification of the results of the presidential elections were caught in it. Alexander Lukashenko is not on the list.
In turn, Minsk announced retaliatory sanctions against the EU.
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