Lukashenko set to dodge EU sanctions over rigged election

PRESIDENT Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus is expected to escape European Union sanctions over last month’s rigged elections after countries led by Germany and France blocked the move.

The EU is preparing to impose sanctions against senior figures in the Belarusian government and intelligence services over the election and the bloody crackdown which followed.

But some member states including Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands are reluctant to go after Mr Lukashenko personally at this stage, according to EU diplomats.

They want to keep channels of communication with the regime open and are pressing for the president and his immediate circle to be excluded.

“There will be sanctions. There was unanimous support for that among member states. The question is, who will be on the list and at what level,” an EU diplomat told The Daily Telegraph.

“We believe the first sanctions should not target the political level. We want dialogue, and the fear is that if we target Lukashenko that would be shut down. We prefer to keep sanctions on the higher political level as an option B if the situation escalates.”

The EU agreed last month to impose sanctions against those it holds responsible for the election and the government violence that followed.

A list of 17 figures in the Belarusian civil service and intelligence service has been drawn up by the EU’S external action service. Those on the list are expected to face travel bans and have their assets frozen in the EU. But the cautious approach is opposed by the Baltic states, which have already imposed their own unilateral sanctions on Mr Lukashenko and are pressing for him to be included on the EU list.

“Poland and the Baltics want sanctions and the Baltics want them to target Lukashenko. It is true that France and Germany and Italy don’t want to go so far at this early stage,” another EU diplomat said.

“They have yet to rule out explicitly aiming for the big man himself at this stage. It is early days.

“There will have to be a foreign ministers’ meeting and a summit before any sanctions can be finalised.”

Last month’s Belarusian elections were widely condemned as rigged after Mr Lukashenko was credited with 80.1 per cent of the vote as against rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s 10.1 per cent. It was the first time Mr Lukashenko, often referred to as “Europe’s last dictator”, had faced a serious challenger in 26 years in power.

Although the official results gave him a landslide victory, Ms Tsikhanouskaya claimed to have won with 60 per cent of the vote. Belarusian authorities launched a bloody crackdown on protests that followed the results, and the United Nations said it had documented more than 450 cases of torture and abuse.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia refused to wait for the EU and imposed their own travel bans on Mr Lukashenko and 29 other officials this week. Mr Lukashenko previously appeared on an EU sanctions list between 2011 and 2016. Those measures were imposed in response to irregularities in the 2010 presidential election.