EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday reached agreement on economic sanctions against Belarus, the news agency reported.
“The foreign ministers reached an agreement on economic sanctions against Belarus. This decision is aimed at limiting” sources of income for the regime of Alexander Lukashenko”, – the agency said citing its own source.
The agency’s source clarified that the decision was taken unanimously.
Earlier, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the EU foreign ministers would discuss economic sectoral sanctions against Belarus in Luxembourg, and then present them at the EU summit on June 24-25. The leaders of the union will take a political decision to introduce restrictive measures against specific sectors of the Belarusian economy, and after the European summit, the package of economic sanctions will be technically formalized and made public.
It is expected that the potash and oil refining industries, as well as the banking sector of Belarus, may fall under the sanctions. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also told reporters that the sanctions will also affect weapons and tobacco production.
According to media reports, this could happen as early as this week after the summit.