Lawmakers from the conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats say that the European Union should resume sanctions against Minsk.
“There has to be solidarity. There has to be a clear message to Belarus’ authorities that while people are in prison, there can be no prospects for cooperation with this government,” Lebedko said at a news conference in the Seimas building.
“We will go to the Congress of European People’s Parties. These are Europe’s main parties and they have real levers of influence as to whether or not Lukashenko gets credits,” he said.
Lebedko came to Vilnius as soon as he was released after being sentenced to 15 days in custody for having organized an unauthorized rally in his country.
Conservative MP Audronius Ažubalis, a former Lithuanian foreign minister, said that he would raise the issue of resuming sanctions against Belarus.
“I think that our party’s leadership will also agree that Lithuania must now raise the issue of resuming sanctions against the Belarusian regime before the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council. We will demand this during the next meeting of the (Lithuanian parliament’s) Committee on Foreign Affairs,” the lawmaker said at the news conference.
“These sanctions that have now been lifted allow the regime to receive financial flows from the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We will call for the resumption of these sanctions against Belarus, because if the Kremlin currently does not have enough funds to finance its ally, then why we should do this,” he said.
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