EU to blacklist 31 Belarus senior officials over election: Reuters

The European Union aims to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarus officials, including the country's interior minister, by mid-September, three EU diplomats said, in response to an Aug. 9 election that the West says was rigged. Report informs citing the Reuters.

Almost a month into mass demonstrations against the contest's outcome, in which President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory to prolong his 26-year-old rule, the EU aims to punish the government crackdown and support calls for fresh elections.

"We initially agreed on 14 names, but many states felt that was not sufficient. We have now reached consensus on another 17," one EU diplomat said. "These are senior officials responsible for the election, for violence, and the crackdown."

EU foreign ministers gave their broad political approval for the sanctions - EU travel bans and asset freezes - at a Berlin meeting late last month but did not decide who to target.

As repression continued against the opposition on Monday, the European Commission said EU sanctions would be imposed very soon but did not give details.

"There are the political will and determination to have (sanctions) concluded as soon as possible," a spokesman for the EU executive told a news briefing. "It's not a question of whether only when."
Greece and Cyprus, which are pushing for separate sanctions on Turkey in a dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean, still need to support the Belarus blacklist.

All 27 EU countries must agree on such measures, and Athens and Nicosia could use their support for the Belarus blacklist to obtain tough measures on Turkey, the diplomats said.