The Baltic countries banned the entry of Lukashenko and 29 other Belarusian officials

Latvia has officially recognized the current head of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and 29 other high-ranking officials of the country as persona non grata: they are banned from entering the country for an indefinite period. The example of the country was followed by two other Baltic countries - Lithuania and Estonia (so far limited to a five-year ban).

The release of the Latvian Foreign Ministry says that Minister Edgars Rinkevics has decided to include 30 Belarusian officials on the sanctions list. It included representatives of the apparatus and administration of the President of Belarus, members of the Central Election Commission of the country, officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, employees of the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus, as well as the State Security Committee, the Investigative Committee and the leadership of Minsk.

“These people, through their personal actions, organized and supported the falsification of the presidential elections in Belarus on August 9, 2020, and also supported the violent suppression of peaceful protests,” the Latvian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It also states that the country calls on other EU countries to “immediately take similar decisions.”

In addition to President Lukashenko, the list includes his eldest son Viktor (he holds the position of assistant to the president for national security), head of the presidential administration Igor Sergeenko, head of the Belarusian CEC Lidia Yermoshina, head of the Minsk police Ivan Kubrakov and others. The full list can be found here .

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Monday that the list had been agreed upon with Latvia and Estonia, but that this was only an "initial version of the list" and that it would be expanded in the future. In total, there are 118 Belarusian officials "at the sight" of the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs.