Russia to follow Belarus’s lead on sanctions against EU officials

Belarus’s list of sanctioned European Union officials will automatically apply in Russia, stated Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday, October 2.

Zakharova underscored that this is taking place “in accordance with alliance obligations.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also emphasized that it considers the EU’s sanctions “open and unacceptable pressure on the Belarusian authorities, who are making efforts to normalize the situation inside the country.”

Representatives of the European Union and its member states have repeatedly assured about the absence of geopolitics in their approach. However, the decisions taken [by] the EU, the language of threats, as well as other actions in relation to Belarus evidence the opposite.

Earlier today, Minsk announced the adoption of its own sanctions list in response to visa sanctions from the European Union. The list has not been made public. On October 1, the EU sanctioned approximately 40 Belarusian government officials, who, according to Brussels, are responsible for electoral fraud and violating human rights. Alexander Lukashenko wasn’t included on the list.