In a coordinated move, the US, Britain, the EU, and Canada all imposed sanctions on Belarus, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Thursday.
Blinken said in a statement that the purpose of the sanctions is to “raise the cost” on the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The sanctions are also a response to a migrant crisis in Belarus.
The US and its allies have accused Minsk of purposely luring in migrants from war-torn countries in the Middle East to send them to borders with neighboring EU countries in retaliation for earlier sanctions, a charge Belarus denies.
“These sanctions are also in response to the Lukashenko regime’s callous exploitation of vulnerable migrants from other countries in order to orchestrate migrant smuggling along its border with EU states,” Blinken said.
The US Treasury Department said the new sanctions apply to 20 individuals and 12 entities in Belarus allegedly involved in the migrant crisis or for allegations of human rights violations.
The US and its allies refused to recognize Belarus’s August 2020 presidential election, which saw Lukashenko win another term. Since then, sanctions have been steadily applied to Belarus, and Lukashenko has forged stronger ties with Russia.
all the Imperialist and Neo-colonialist powers act in unison these days these past few years… no need for any conspiracy theories here, it’s just all out in the open and a fact of the matter
And to little to no effect on a nation like Belarus, which is now more and more closely aligned with Russia
These days sanctions seem to only further isolate Washington. They are counterproductive.
BTW – never forget that Washington created the refugees by destroying once peaceful and prosperous nations in a deliberate policy.
Yeah, but those refugees are Europe’s problem.
Of course, if European leaders really wanted to stop the flood of refugees, they need to stop cooperating in any way with America’s wars of aggression. No bases, no troops, no bond purchases, no nothing.
The Americans would have little choice but either to undertake coups in European capitals (good luck with that) or to fold.
True so true
Luk could hold up the gas transit if these clowns continue to manufacture outrage.