Lithuanian MFA: Sanctions against Lukashenka are effective

The authorities of Lithuania are sure that sanctions against Belarusian officials shouldn't be lifted.

Deputy foreign minister Andrius Krivas said during a discussion between EHU students and EU diplomats in Vilnius on July 25 that the EU's restrictive measures against the Belarusian regime were effective, because they didn't allow the Belarusian authorities to ignore and forget the EU demand to release and rehabilitate all political prisoners, and to improve the human rights situation and democracy in the country, the press service of the Lithuanian MFA reports.

“Belarusian officials are subject to targeted restrictive measures, in response to their concrete actions. One of the basic principles is that sanctions should be targeted, which should eliminate any adverse humanitarian effects or unintended consequences for ordinary citizens,” Andrius Krivas said.

The press service of the Lithuanian MFA says that an arms embargo is imposed on Belarus; the assets of 30 Belarusian companies have been frozen and 242 people are affected by economic sanctions, as well as banned from entering the EU. The EU's restrictive measures on Belarus were renewed in 2011 in response to government’s crackdown on the opposition after the fraudulent presidential election on 19 December 2010.

The discussion on the impact of the EU restrictive measures on the Belarusian regime and ordinary citizens was held during one of the events of the Lithuanian EU Council Presidency – the visit to Vilnius of RELEX, the Foreign Relations Counsellors Working Group of the European Commission. This working group is a Council preparatory body that carries out the monitoring and evaluation of EU restrictive measures (sanctions) facilitating the decision-making on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and discusses other EU foreign policy issues (legal and budgetary aspects). The working group consists of diplomats from all EU member states.