The Council of Europe approved the fourth package of sanctions against Belarus.

This was reported in a press release on the website of the European Council.

The new restriction list includes 78 individuals and 8 companies.

The sanctions, as noted, were imposed in connection with "violations of human rights in Belarus, repression against civil society, democratic opposition and journalists," as well as the incident with the Ryanair aircraft.

The report says that now a total of 166 individuals and 15 organizations are under EU sanctions.   

The head of the European Council Charles Michel said in his Twitter that this step is a signal of support for the people of Belarus.  

“Today the EU is sending another powerful signal of support to the people of Belarus by imposing further restrictive measures.

Our message to the regime cannot be misinterpreted: “Free the political prisoners.

Put an end to further repression.

Start an inclusive national dialogue, ”said Charles Michel.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, before the meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU countries in Luxembourg, at which they were to agree on the fourth package of sanctions against Minsk, told reporters that the ministers would also agree on sectoral economic sanctions against Minsk.

“They will deal a serious blow to the economy of Belarus,” he said.

These sanctions will be considered at the EU summit on June 24-25.

The transition to sectoral sanctions against the economy of Belarus was also confirmed by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

“We will no longer just impose personal sanctions.

Now we will impose sectoral sanctions, which means that now we can deal with those areas of the economy that are of particular importance for Belarus and the incomes of its regime, ”said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany.

According to Maas, 27 European countries have a common position on sanctions.

“We really do not intend to change our position, and not only today - it will remain in this form in the coming weeks and months,” he said.

At the end of May, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said that one of the main targets of the new EU economic sanctions would be the export of potash - Belarus is one of its largest suppliers in the world.

In addition, the oil and financial sectors were proposed as targets (for example, a ban on granting loans to Belarusian banks).

After the meeting in Luxembourg, Borrell also said that the European Union could introduce a fifth package of sanctions against Belarus.

Simultaneously with the European Union, the US Treasury Department introduced new sanctions against Minsk.

The restrictions affected the KGB of Belarus, GUBOPiK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, the internal troops of the republic, the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Brest Regional Executive Committee and the isolation ward on Akrestin Street.

The US sanctions list also included 16 people, including the press secretary of the President of Belarus Natalya Eismont, the speaker of the upper house of parliament of the country Natalia Kochanova and the commander of the KGB special unit of Belarus "Alpha" Sergei Zubkov.

The United Kingdom joined the sanctions - it imposed restrictions on 11 people and two organizations in Belarus - and Canada, which imposed additional sanctions on 17 individuals and five legal entities.

According to Oleg Nemensky, a leading researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, Western countries have chosen Belarus as a target to demonstrate a single, tough policy towards their opponents. 

“This is a demonstration of solidarity in a single political camp, which is still the West.

After Biden came to power in the United States, the EU countries and the Anglosphere are actively restoring this unity, and such an issue as sanctions against Belarus is convenient for demonstrating it, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.

Plane of Discord

The introduction of the fourth package of sanctions against Belarus was planned from the beginning of this year.

However, the process was accelerated after the Ryanair incident.

We will remind, on May 23, the plane of the Irish airline Ryanair, en route from Athens to Vilnius through the airspace of Belarus, had to land at the Minsk airport.

The reason was that the pilots received a signal about mining, which, as it later turned out, turned out to be false. 

The plane was at the Minsk airport for several hours.

After landing, Roman Protasevich, the former editor-in-chief of the NEXTA Telegram channel, and the Russian citizen Sophia Sapega, who was accompanying him, was removed from the flight.

Protasevich was detained on several charges, including organizing protests and riots.

He later admitted his guilt.

In turn, during interrogation, Sapega admitted that she was the administrator of the Telegram channel "Black Book of Belarus", which posted the data of the Belarusian security forces in the public domain.

The incident was condemned by Western officials and politicians.

Minsk said that the forced landing of the aircraft was dictated by aviation security rules and that the crew made their own decision to land.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin in late May, said that Western countries were using the Ryanair incident to “rock the situation back to last August's level,” when protests broke out in Belarus over the results of the presidential election.

  • Ryanair plane in Minsk

  • Reuters

Oppositional attitude

Before agreeing on a new package of sanctions against Minsk, the EU foreign ministers met with one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

At a press conference following the meeting, Josep Borrell said that the European Union will continue to support the opposition of Belarus.

“We met with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, listened carefully to her and her call to the EU to maintain its decisive position.

The EU is ready to support the future democratic Belarus within the framework of the € 3 billion aid package, ”TASS quoted him as saying.

Recall that Tikhanovskaya considers herself the winner of the presidential elections in Belarus, held in August 2020.

According to the Central Election Commission, Alexander Lukashenko won them, receiving more than 80% of the votes.

Tikhanovskaya gained 10%.

The opposition of Belarus announced fraudulent elections, after which mass protests and clashes with the police began in the country.

Before Tikhanovskaya's meeting with the foreign ministers of the EU countries, Tut.by published her interview, in which she stated that the opposition should achieve the release of all political prisoners and the holding of new presidential elections this year.

“We must strive to have all prisoners released this year, and to hold new elections this year,” she answered the question of when Lukashenka will leave his post.

After the incident with the Ryanair plane and the arrest of Roman Protasevich, Tikhanovskaya stated that the Belarusian opposition was allegedly preparing for a new phase of protests in response to the actions of the “illegitimate” regime.

  • Svetlana Tikhanovskaya

  • Reuters

  • © Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa

Boris Mezhuev, associate professor of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University, in an interview with RT, noted that the combination of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union and Tikhanovskaya with the introduction of new sanctions is not accidental.

“By her presence, Tikhanovskaya seems to legitimize such sanctions, but at the same time she is not a real force capable of changing the situation.

However, ... it is not possible to change the situation in Belarus either with the help of the figure of Tikhanovskaya or with the help of sanctions, ”the expert explained.

As soon as the EU finally makes sure that the Belarusian opposition located abroad has no leverage to influence the internal situation in the country, interest in it will disappear, Boris Mezhuev added.

In turn, Nikolai Mezhevich, chief researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT, noted that the European Union, introducing new economic sanctions against Belarus, is trying to show that its countries are pursuing a consistent and uniform policy, and also wants to divert attention from their own internal problems.

“The current internal problems of the EU make Brussels look for an understandable goal to form the image of an external enemy, and Belarus, as they think, is ideally suited for this.

With its help, they expect to solve a number of problems, in particular, the issue of their own effective foreign policy, which has not been formed in twenty years, ”the political scientist emphasized.

By holding meetings with Tikhanovskaya, representatives of the EU countries are trying to demonstrate solidarity with the Belarusian opposition, but they are not completely sure of the level of its real support in the republic, Mezhevich added.

“In many EU countries there are serious politicians who know perfectly well that Tikhanovskaya did not win the last presidential elections and was not even close to winning.

She is not capable of influencing political activity in the country, "said the interlocutor of RT.

According to Nikolai Mezhevich, putting pressure on Belarus, the EU is also trying to find a new reason to contain Russia.

“In particular, if Russia stands up for Belarus, it will also be under the threat of economic sanctions.

True, the summit of the presidents of the United States and Russia somewhat defused the situation, so the EU will not take any drastic steps now, ”the expert noted.

Commenting on the EU's plans to introduce sectoral sanctions against the Belarusian economy, Oleg Nemensky noted that the West hopes for them as a means of splitting the Belarusian elites.

These sectoral sanctions will have little impact on the lives of ordinary citizens, because the economic component can be replenished thanks to Russian-Belarusian relations, the political scientist believes.

“For this, tempting offers of Western aid are also being formulated after the overthrow of Lukashenka. However, this will not have the desired effect, since these sanctions will be counterbalanced by Russian economic influence. Western elites by such actions are now actively pushing Belarus towards further integration with Russia, "the interlocutor of RT explained.