• Protests: the first released denounce the torture of the Belarusian regime

The foreign ministers of the European Union have agreed in an extraordinary meeting this Friday to approve a battery of sanctions against the Alexander Lukashenko regime, after the repression against protesters who protested against the manipulation of the elections last Sunday in Belarus.

The EU takes a turn of the wheel and ends a veiled tolerance and rapprochement in recent years with the Lukashenko regime. The 27 threatened last Wednesday and confirmed this Friday that they will impose sanctions against those responsible for the indiscriminate violence, the unjustified arrests and the falsification of the results of elections that the Union does not consider to be free or fair.

Just hours before the meeting, in an unusual move, the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, called on ministers to adopt sanctions "against those who violate democratic values ​​or mistreat human rights in Belarus." The president has celebrated the unanimity of the 27. "Europe must protect its values", the German has tweeted.

As it is an informal meeting, the ministers cannot legally make the decision for which unanimity is required. Although a dozen countries had been openly in favor of the measures, Hungary threatened to upset unanimity but has not finally blocked the decision.

The EU had in the past imposed sanctions against the Lukashenko regime. Specifically, an embargo on arms and riot gear, as well as restrictions on entry to European territory and freezing of assets . However, in 2016 it had notably reduced the list of people subject to sanctions, which will probably be expanded now.

Today's Council begins the process to draw up a list with the names of the authorities against whom entry restrictions into European territory or freezing of Vienna could be imposed. The formalization of the sanctions is expected to take place in the coming weeks .

Lukashenko had instrumentalized the recent tensions with Vladimir Putin's Russia and its close relationship with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania to benefit from relatively favorable treatment from the Union. The decision is a major change, from a collaborative relationship to direct confrontation. In addition, it reaffirms a common position, in the face of voices from the East who proposed to mediate with Lukashenko to avoid an escalation.

The Foreign Ministers had also announced their intention to review relations with Minsk after the episodes of violence and repression that have taken place in the country after Sunday's elections, which have left at least two dead, in addition to dozens of injuries and thousands of arbitrarily detained, to which was added an internet blackout.

Thousands of citizens continue to take to the streets every day demanding the resignation of the Government, while the opposition candidate, Svetlana Tijanovskaya has been forced to leave the country fleeing persecution and has taken refuge in Lithuania, a member of the Union.

Tension in the Mediterranean

The Foreign Ministers also took advantage of the virtual meeting to express their solidarity with Greece and Cyprus. Tension in the Eastern Mediterranean has grown dramatically in recent days, after Athens accused Ankara of illegal prospecting, following a Turkish naval incursion into disputed waters between the two countries. Borrell has called on Turkey to "an immediate de-escalation" and to return to the path of dialogue.

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