Belarus seeks protection from Western pressure

The government of Belarus turned to the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) with a request to protect the country from Western sanctions. Minsk proposes that Russia and Kazakhstan, as allies in the Common Economic Space (CES), develop a mechanism for responding to sanctions from the EU and the United States. Experts are convinced that the Belarusian authorities can only count on verbal support from Moscow and Astana.

Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas made a proposal to develop a consolidated position of the three SES countries regarding the sanctions against Minsk imposed by the EU and the United States. He has already sent a corresponding letter to the Chairman of the EEC Board, Viktor Khristenko, proposing to discuss this topic and develop a general response mechanism at the next EEC meeting. The fact of sending the letter was confirmed by the office of the Council of Ministers of Belarus to the Interfax agency.

The sanctions that the US and EU have imposed on Belarus over recent years were tightened after the scandalous presidential elections in December 2010, which ended in violent actions against the opposition and arrests of opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko. In January 2011, the EU approved a list of 158 Belarusian officials who are banned from entering Europe. The accounts and property of these persons in EU countries must be frozen. Then the list was expanded - now there are almost 250 people. A similar blacklist was adopted in the United States. The lists are headed by President Lukashenko and his sons, Viktor and Dmitry. In addition, the EU imposed sanctions against the companies Beltechexport, BT-Telecom and Sport-Pari. In Belarus, many are convinced that these companies belong to Viktor and Dmitry Lukashenko, and their nominal owner Vladimir Peftiev only manages the assets of the president’s family. The United States has economic sanctions against the state concern Belneftekhim, as well as the Belarusian TK-Bank, which was created by the Iranian Tejerat Bank (Washington accuses this bank of financing Tehran's nuclear program).

The EEC told Kommersant yesterday that it has not yet received a letter from the Belarusian government, and therefore the possible reaction of the commission has not yet been determined. The governments of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan do not comment on the situation. Experts are convinced that if the SES allies provide Belarus with support, it will be exclusively verbal. “The leaders of Russia and Kazakhstan will not get into a real fight with someone in the West over Lukashenko,” Denis Melyantsov, a senior analyst at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, told Kommersant. Former member of the Belarusian parliament, political scientist Olga Abramova also agrees with him. “Will Russia, in response to the fact that Lukashenko cannot obtain an American visa, ban Barack Obama or some European leader from entering its territory?” - she is perplexed. Denis Melyantsov is convinced that Minsk can only count on sympathetic statements from Moscow and Astana and, possibly, the support of the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Vladislav Kagan, Minsk

European sanctions appealed in Eurasia