STRASBOURG (France), March 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Parliament urged EU countries to impose new sanctions on Belarus over its crackdown on the opposition and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The 27-nation bloc has already hit Minsk with multiple rounds of sanctions over its domestic repression and role as a springboard for Moscow’s invasion.
Lawmakers approved a non-binding resolution calling for the EU to broaden the list of those targeted over the clampdown, in a vote that followed the sentencing of Nobel Prize winning activist Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in jail.
They said more “judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement, prison and penal colony officials” should be included on an assets freeze and visa ban blacklist.
The EU legislature also urged the bloc to tighten sanctions over Belarus’ role in the war on its neighbour Ukraine to mirror sweeping punishment imposed on Russia and curb Moscow’s ability to sidestep the measures.
EU officials had hoped to toughen sanctions on Belarus over the conflict in February, but the move has remained snarled over a disagreement on exemptions for fertilisers.
The resolution in addition slammed a visit by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to Minsk last month as contrary to EU policy.
It also called for pressure to be put on the International Olympic Committee to ensure that athletes from the country remain banned from competing at the next Olympic Games in Paris. — NNN-AGENCIES
