MEP Calls For Tighter Sanctions Against Lukashenko
- 3.09.2026, 10:33
Don't fall for the dictator's tricks.
How important are sanctions against Putin’s closest ally, the Lukashenko regime, in maintaining pressure on the Russian economy?
The website Charter97.org the Vice Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Belarus, Polish MEP Michał Kobosko,
— I believe they are just as important as sanctions against Russia. The Belarusian economy is very closely intertwined with the Russian economy. Belarus has also been used to circumvent sanctions imposed on Russian companies. Lukashenko has not directly involved Belarus in the war against Ukraine in the sense of the Belarusian army’s participation, but he is constantly walking a fine line, trying to show that he is independent, when in reality he is completely dependent on Russia today. So as long as the situation in Belarus remains one in which a dictator—who illegally calls himself the president of Belarus—remains in power, these sanctions must remain in place, and Belarus must be viewed as an extension of the Russian Federation’s interests.
We recognize and appreciate the humanitarian role of President Trump’s administration in securing the release of people from prison, and we do not criticize that. But what raises doubts for us is that Lukashenko is releasing a few prisoners and, as it were, buying the lifting of some U.S. sanctions, even though we know that by releasing some people, he is in no way changing his repressive policies toward his own society, and new prisoners continue to be sent to prisons in Belarus.
Therefore, we must not allow ourselves to be deceived by such tricks used by the Lukashenko regime, and these sanctions, in our opinion, must remain in force. We must not ease sanctions against Belarus until democratic rights are established there, genuine elections can take place, and the KGB’s control over the people comes to an end, because this is a regime that treats its own citizens with extreme cruelty, which is unacceptable in Europe.