EU High Representative for foreign policy, Catherine Ashton, said at the final press conference after a meeting of the EU Council in Brussels on January 31 that the Belarusian authorities had left no choice to the EU. According to her, the imposition of sanctions on the Belarusian leadership is a necessary measure, as the Belarusian authorities haven't followed the EU's recommendations and have not taken any measures to improve the situation in the country after the presidential election.
Catherine Ashton said that the main condition for talks between Belarus and the European Union was still the release of all the detained protesters on December 19 in Minsk. According to the EU High Representative, the EU may reconsider its decision on sanctions against the Belarusian leadership under this condition.
At the same time, the EU High Representative noted that the EU was ready to consider the imposition of additional sanctions, including economic ones, in relation to Belarus. According to Catherine Ashton, this may happen if the situation does not change for the better.
In addition, Catherine Ashton stressed that the EU would continue to support the Belarusian people and declared her readiness to strengthen links with civil society.
As Telegraf previously reported, foreign ministers of the EU countries made the final decision on January 31 to impose visa bans on Belarusian president and about 150 Belarusian officials responsible, as they believe, for the violent crackdown on the opposition rally on Election Day on December 19. According to the information from unofficial sources in the EU Council, a sanctions list of persons targeted also includes Defense Minister of Belarus Yuri Zhadobin, the head of the Security Council Leonid Maltsev, head of the KGB Vadim Zaitsev, head of the administration of President Vladimir Makei, the Prosecutor General Grigori Vasilevich, speaker of the lower house of Parliament Vladimir Andreichenko, as well as 24 Chairmen of the territorial electoral commissions, 30 judges and 10 journalists.
The European Union has also decided to freeze the assets of the Belarusian leadership from the list of 2006 (including the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and another 40 senior officials) and supplement it with those, involved in the December events in Minsk. The economic sanctions against Belarus were not reported about.
At the same time Alexander Lukashenko ordered the government to be ready with responses to possible sanctions against the official Minsk at the meeting on domestic issues on January 20.
Belarusian Foreign Ministry has already made an official statement on the imposition of sanctions, claiming Belarus’ readiness for a «proportionate and adequate» response to the EU decision. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry believes that the decision, taken by the EU Council «is based on clear cover-up of the demonstrators’ aggression and violence, expressed in the attempt to seize the Government buildings and the Belarusian Parliament after the presidential elections on December 19, 2010.»
