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The EU cannot impose sanctions against Belarus due to Cyprus
At the meeting of the ambassadors of the EU member states in Brussels, the representative of Cyprus vetoed the draft sanctions against Minsk.
Cyprus has once again blocked the EU sanctions against Belarus. The representative of Nicosia vetoed the draft sanctioning measures on Friday, September 18, at a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU countries in Brussels.
“Such a step in Nicosia protects the Lukashenka regime from the consequences of its antidemocratic and oppressive actions,” the dpa agency quotes a European diplomat who wanted to remain anonymous.
At the same time, Cyprus explains its opposition to the sanctions against Belarus by the desire to achieve the introduction of EU sanctions against Turkey, which is exploring gas in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
On the same day it emerged that the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clement Bon, supported Cyprus’s position on the issue of sanctions against Ankara. Sanctions should be among the options the EU will consider if Turkey continues to “threaten the security and sovereignty” of Cyprus, Bon said after speaking with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulidis.
The conflict between Turkey on one side and Greece and Cyprus on the other erupted in the summer, when Ankara sent the research vessel Oruc Reis to carry out exploration work near the Greek island of Kastelorizo, accompanied by military vessels. As a result, the Turkish and Greek armed forces were put on high alert.
The EU sanctions list includes some 40 people responsible for manipulating the Belarusian elections and for violence against peaceful protesters. It cannot come into force for another two weeks, as the 27 EU countries must unanimously make a decision on it. Cyprus has already vetoed the sanctions provided for on September 10.
Source: DW Russian Service
