Belarus enters into force a retaliatory list of sanctions against the European Union.

This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry indicated that they "will not publish" the names included in the "black list" in accordance with civilized diplomatic practice.

“Belarus is always against confrontation in words and in deeds.

We are for dialogue and understanding.

But as a sovereign state, we will also resolutely, albeit not without regret, respond to unfriendly actions in order to naturally protect our national interests, ”the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Minsk stressed that the promotion of the "sanctions flywheel" by the EU could lead to "serious consequences", in particular, the country's withdrawal from joint programs and projects, and consideration of the "expediency of maintaining diplomatic relations."

“The EU threatens us that it will reconsider its relations with Belarus.

This will be his choice.

The Belarusian side, in turn, is also ready for such a revision of relations and will continue to adequately respond to any unfriendly actions.

Attempts to impose on the Belarusians some representatives approved from outside, projects of some “governments in exile” and the like are doomed to failure.

The fate of such structures is sad - not having started yet, they find themselves on the sidelines of the historical process, ”Belarusian diplomats said.

In turn, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the EU's decision to impose individual sanctions on Belarusian officials, said that Moscow is "very, very negative" about the sanctions policy.

"In any case, this is more a manifestation of weakness than strength," added a Kremlin official.

Earlier, on the night of October 2, it became known that the member states of the European Union had agreed on the introduction of visa sanctions against Belarus.

40 officials of the republic, who are accused of falsifying the results of the presidential elections and involvement in the "brutal suppression of peaceful demonstrations" that started in the country after the vote, fell under the restrictions.

“We decided to impose sanctions.

It is very important to implement what we decided a few weeks ago, ”said the head of the European Council Charles Michel following the results of the first day of the EU summit.

Meanwhile, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko was not included in the "black list".

According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the restrictions would mean the EU's refusal to engage in dialogue with Lukashenko.

“The EU calls on Lukashenka to agree to a dialogue through the OSCE, to take measures to build confidence, to release political prisoners, especially former presidential candidates,” the French leader said.

At the same time, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the imposition of sanctions against Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s associates is “a very important signal”.

  • President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko

  • AFP

  • © Siarhei LESKIEC

At the end of August, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia introduced sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko and another 29 high-ranking politicians of the country, and after a while they expanded the sanctions list.

On September 29, Minsk approved retaliatory restrictive measures.

Also on this day, the UK and Canada imposed sanctions against the "illegitimate President of Belarus" and a number of representatives of the presidential administration and Belarusian security agencies.

In Belarus, the exchange of sanctions was called "a downward spiral launched at the suggestion of individual Lithuanian leaders."

“We will continue to respond, but we will never initiate such steps,” they said in Minsk.

Position of the European Union

Recall that on August 19, the head of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU does not recognize the official results of the presidential elections in Belarus, following which Alexander Lukashenko won with more than 80% of the vote, while his main opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, gained just over 10%.

The European Union promised to impose sanctions against "a significant number of those who are responsible for the violence in the republic and electoral fraud."

In Moscow, commenting on the intentions of Brussels, they emphasized the illegality of unilateral financial restrictions.

“Our position on the sanctions instruments used by the European Union is well known.

It is illegitimate from the point of view of international law, it constitutes an unacceptable interference in internal affairs, ”said Maria Zakharova, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.

A month later, in September, the foreign ministers of the EU member states were unable to agree on a sanctions list of Belarusian officials.

In particular, one of the obstacles was the position of Cyprus, which demanded that Brussels show consistency and take a tougher stance against Turkey due to its exploration activities to search for gas fields on the disputed shelf in the Mediterranean Sea.

However, following the results of the first day of the EU summit, the differences with Cyprus were resolved.

Brussels condemned the violation of the republic's sovereign rights, urging Ankara to refrain from such actions in the future.

At the same time, if Turkey continues to violate the provisions of international law, the EU will apply all available instruments to protect its interests and the interests of the EU member states.

"The European Council will continue to closely monitor the development of events and will return to this issue and take appropriate decisions at the latest at its December meeting," the document says.