Sanctions should be imposed against Russia in connection with the ongoing political crisis in Belarus, where protests are taking place after the presidential elections. This was stated by the member of the European Parliament from Poland Jacek Sariusz-Wolski. According to him, new sanctions are needed to neutralize "Russian interference."

“What the European Union could do, what Poland could offer is to direct sanctions on Russia, not on Belarus. Because it looks like a punishment with a sword, not a hand. If we neutralize the role of Russian intervention or even annexation, then I think the Belarusians will cope with the construction of democracy on their own, ”the politician said on the air of Polish Radio.

At the same time, Sariush-Volsky criticized the EU's reaction to the events in Belarus, calling it timid.

“The attitude to what is being done in Belarus would be completely different if it were not for the fact that today those who have power in the European Union put relations and business with Russia above the support of democratic movements in Belarus, recognizing in a sense that this is the territory of Russian influence, ”added the Polish politician.

The need to "punish" Russia for what is happening in the neighboring country was also stated by the Minister of National Defense of Poland, Mariusz Blaszczak, who linked the Belarusian unrest with the construction of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2.

“I hope that maybe this will be another element that will make certain EU and NATO countries change, for example, their approach to Nord Stream, that is, to this political Russian-German enterprise ... I hope that they will think again, especially Germany, that business with Russia is not in the interest of the free world, ”RIA Novosti quoted Blaschak as saying.

Such statements by Polish politicians once again confirm the anti-Russian course of Warsaw, says Vadim Trukhachev, a lecturer at the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the Historical Archives Institute of the Russian State Humanitarian University.

“The Polish authorities have made Russophobia a state policy and, accordingly, without understanding, they are looking for a“ Russian trace ”everywhere, even where it is not. This is an ordinary Polish song about the fact that Russia is an existential enemy and, accordingly, it must be punished, ”the expert said in a commentary on RT.

Lublin mediation

Recall that on August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus, in which, according to the CEC, the current head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, won, gaining 80.08% of the vote. After that, protest actions began throughout the country, who did not agree with this result.

  • AFP
  • © Sergei GAPON

Law enforcement officials use tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets against protesters. According to official figures, one person died when a homemade bomb exploded in his hands. At the same time, some media outlets report the death of another young man, the circumstances of whose death are still being investigated. 

With the onset of the Belarusian crisis, the countries of the so-called Lublin Triangle - Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine - began to offer their help to resolve it, expressing their readiness to “facilitate dialogue” between the Belarusian authorities and the protesters. This was announced on August 11 in Riga by Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputovich.

“In our statement, we suggest that the authorities in Minsk, if they agree or need it, take on the role of mediator in internal negotiations. Because without an agreement on changes in the country reached with the Belarusian society, it is difficult to imagine a positive way out of this situation, ”Polskoe Radio quotes him as saying.

Chaputovich said that the path to the EU is open for Belarus, but it is based on democratic changes - the release of political prisoners, an end to repression and the beginning of negotiations. At the same time, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry warned about the possible imposition of sanctions in the event of a worsening of the situation.

On August 13, during an interview with Polish Radio, Mariusz Blaszczak also spoke about some kind of "mediation" with the participation of Poland and Lithuania.

“This is a joint initiative of Poland and Lithuania - readiness to act as mediators in negotiations (between the authorities and the opposition). It was expressed by the presidents of the two states. There is also an initiative sent to the EU by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, it concerns the holding of a meeting of the European Council, dedicated to the situation in Belarus, ”- quotes the words of the Polish Defense Minister Interfax.

EU reaction

The EU leadership has not yet linked what is happening in Belarus with Russia, but on August 11, Brussels said in an official statement that the European Union does not consider the elections in Belarus either free or fair and is studying the possibility of imposing sanctions against those responsible for unlawful arrests and violence.

According to the official representative of the European Commission for international affairs Peter Stano, despite the lack of haste in discussing the sanctions issue, all options remain open.

The day before, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU countries was scheduled for August 14, at which, among other things, the situation in Belarus would be discussed. The Polish Foreign Ministry, in turn, focused on the fact that the meeting was initiated by Warsaw.

Vadim Trukhachev suggested that the countries of the Lublin Triangle, having intervened in the international discussion of the crisis in Belarus, would try to turn it in the direction of attacks on Russia. In his opinion, the EU countries with an anti-Russian stance will try to tie the events in Belarus to Russia and use them as a supply for new sanctions, but the option of really introducing restrictions against Moscow is unlikely, the expert said.

“Undoubtedly, the political crisis in Belarus will be used by the countries of Eastern Europe to stir up anti-Russian hysteria in the EU. However, it is unlikely that sanctions against Russia can really be imposed on such grounds, since there are no states of the level of Germany in the union of these countries, "Trukhachev explained.

Konstantin Voronov, head of the regional problems and conflicts section of the European Political Studies Department of the IMEMO RAS, also believes that the political crisis in Belarus will be used by the countries of Eastern Europe to stir up anti-Russian hysteria in the EU.  

“It can be expected that sanctions may indeed be imposed against Russia, since some forces will exaggerate, using not only this occasion, but also other events to achieve what they want,” the political scientist concluded.