Cyprus refuses to back EU sanctions for #Belarus in hope of progress on #Turkey

Following yesterday’s (21 September) Foreign Affairs Council, EU’s High Representative Josep Borrell reiterated that the EU did not consider Lukashenko to be the legitimate president of Belarus. The EU still failed to impose sanctions.

Before yesterday’s Council, there was an informal breakfast for ministers with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who stood against the incumbent in the election of 9 August and is one of the leaders of the Belarusian pro-democracy Coordination Council. Tsikhanouskaya then went on to the European Parliament where she addressed its Foreign Affairs Committee.

Borrell said that ministers wanted to see an end to violence and repression, as well as a new inclusive political dialogue with free and fair elections supervised by the OSCE. Borrell said that the foreign affairs ministers were unable to reach unanimity because of one country, Cyprus. Borrell said that since it was known it advance, the issue of sanctions was not raised at the meeting. Though he went on to say that the extension of sanctions to include Lukashenko was considered.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides who is blocking agreement because of the failure of the EU to take action on Turkey, as promised at a recent informal meeting of ministers, said: “Our reaction to any kind of violation of our core, basic values and principle cannot be a la carte. It needs to be consistent. I really believe that there is no deadlock to diplomacy. I'm here, I'm ready to implement the decision that the political decision that we reach during the Gymnich informal meeting.”

Addressing the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Tsikhanouskaya called for the release of political prisoners, an end to police violence and the holding of free and fair elections: “Our fight is a fight for freedom, for democracy and for human dignity. It is exclusively peaceful and non-violent.”

Borrell will present the outcome of the discussions to this week’s European Council where the EU’s relationship with Turkey will be discussed. Borrell wrote in a blog that the EU has a duty to adopt sanctions, “It is a matter of our credibility.”

In the meantime, a package of around 40 names and entities has been prepared, which targets those responsible for the electoral fraud, the repression of peaceful protests and state-run brutality. In concrete terms, it would mean these people and entities will have any assets inside the EU frozen; they will not be able to receive any kind of funding or finance from within the EU; and they will be banned from entering the EU.

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