The US government confirmed a series of sanctions against Belarus on Friday following the diversion of a Ryanair airliner to Minsk last Sunday and the arrest of an opponent of the “Lukashenko regime” by the authorities.
In addition to the measures already announced in recent weeks, Washington said in a press release issued by the White House that A “list of targeted sanctions against key members of the regime” was drawn up in coordination with the European Union by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
«Forced diversion from Belarus, under false pretenses, of a Ryanair commercial flight between two EU Member StatesThe arrest of opposition journalist Raman Pratasevic was a “violation of international law,” said a statement signed by White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
The financial sanctions against nine Belarusian public companies, which were re-imposed in April following the crackdown on democratization protests, will take effect on June 3rd.
After the 2006 election, the outcome of which was disputed by the opposition, Washington had banned all transactions with these companies. The US Treasury Department suspended the sanctions in 2015, citing some progress, but the US government warned in late March that the suspension would probably not be renewed until later.
Washington has also issued a newer travel directive for Belarus, urging US citizens not to “go there”, according to a statement from the US presidency.
The EU is considering imposing new sanctions on Belarus, targeting potash exports and passing Russian gas, two major sources of revenue for Minsk, EU foreign policy chief Giuseppe Borrell said on Thursday.
Brussels has already asked European airlines to bypass Belarus airspace.
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