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EU foreign ministers green light new Belarus sanctions

EU foreign ministers green light new Belarus sanctions
EU foreign ministers green light new Belarus sanctions

The European Union is set to impose new sanctions targeting Belarusian officials responsible for the brutal crackdown in the ex-Soviet state, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters on Friday after video talks held by EU foreign ministers.

However, the targets and the scope of the measures are yet to be determined, an EU official said, adding that "a list of names will be drawn up" by the foreign policy unit. Once the list is finalized, the EU nations would need to unanimously approve each individual or organization on it before sanctions can go into effect.

The EU would "now initiate a process of sanctions against those responsible for the violence, arrests and fraud in connection with the election," Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Twitter.

The video talks were called after Sunday's controversial election win for Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko and days of violence against anti-government protesters, which Maas slammed as "completely unacceptable."

"We aim to put certain persons who are known and took part in crimes against peaceful protests under the EU sanctions regime," he said.

On 9 August, presidential election results were publicized in the country, with this followed by mass protest actions. People took to the streets and protested against Lukashenko's government, claiming that results were fake. Following the crackdown on demonstrators, more than 6,000 were detained, including journalists. Two protesters reportedly died.

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