Finland, Sweden Declare Need For Tougher Sanctions Against Belarusian Regime

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Finland and Sweden believe that the EU should tighten sanctions against Russia after the death in prison of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said at a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen on Tuesday, March 26. This is reported by Reuters.

He said he believes the fact that Navalny's death is linked to Russia's leadership prompts imposing sanctions specifically against those responsible.

"We also, of course, believe that sanctions in general, the sanctions package, should be expanded because we see that sanctions are beneficial when it comes to undermining Russia's ability to wage its illegal war against Ukraine," he said.

Billström added that the two Nordic countries would also like to see a sanctions regime against the Lukashenka regime due to its support for Russia in the war.

Earlier it was reported that the EU foreign ministers discussed new economic sanctions against Russia. The work on the 14th package, which will include both new sanctions and strengthening the effectiveness of the already imposed restrictions, is ongoing.

They also discussed how to strengthen and harmonise the sanctions policy against the Belarusian regime with the sanctions against Russia. The EU's goal is to reduce the role of Belarus in circumventing the anti-Russian sanctions.