(CN) — Faced with an array of foreign policy troubles at their borders, European Union leaders on Friday turned to a now-familiar – but potentially ineffective – weapon of choice: sanctions.
During a two-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels, the EU said it is imposing targeted sanctions on Belarus for its brutal crackdown on protests following allegedly rigged presidential elections in August. The bloc also threatened Turkey with sanctions unless it backs away from natural gas exploration in waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
The EU said it is targeting 40 individuals within the Belarusian regime, a move that comes nearly two months after longtime Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was reelected in a landslide victory widely viewed as fixed.
Taking so long to impose sanctions on Belarus has been an embarrassment for the EU. The delay was caused by Cyprus, an EU member state that insisted the bloc must take a tougher stance against Turkey before it would support sanctions against Belarus. Under its treaties, the EU requires unanimity among its member states on major policy decisions, a requirement that often leaves the EU unable to respond to both internal and international crises quickly.
However, the EU left Lukashenko off the list of those facing sanctions. EU officials said they chose to not punish Lukashenko to entice him to enter negotiations on holding new elections. The EU does not recognize his victory as legitimate and wants Belarus to hold new elections with international observers present.
It is also calling for the release of political prisoners, an end to violence and repression, respect for media freedom and civil society and the start of “an inclusive national dialogue.” In the crackdown, Belarus has closed media outlets, shut down the internet and arrested opposition figures.
EU leaders also agreed to funnel funds for “a comprehensive plan of economic support for democratic Belarus.” The EU has said it wants to support pro-democracy media outlets and organizations in Belarus. Belarus and Russia are accusing the West of seeking to interfere in Belarus and orchestrate a regime change.
On Friday, a defiant Belarus condemned the sanctions, rejected calls to redo the elections and said the EU's actions will alienate Belarus from the EU.
For several years prior to the August election, Belarus was seeking to improve relations with the United States and the EU. Lukashenko's overtures to Western powers were seen as a rebuff to Russian President Vladimir Putin's objective to deepen Belarus's integration with Russia.
“The EU again does not want to offer its partner anything but sanctions,” the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, according to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, a state-run news agency.
It said the EU was not interested in working with Belarus to improve relations and that EU leaders falsely believed that what is occurring in Belarus is a “fight of good against evil.”
“Pro-democratic totalitarianism is even more assertive than the communist one,” the ministry said. “Not only different opinions, details and nuances, but even obvious facts are rejected a priori if they are not in sync with the ‘right ideology.’”
The European Council, an EU institution made up of the bloc’s national leaders, issued sanctions against Yuri Karaev, the interior minister, Lidia Yermoshina, the chairwoman of the Central Election Commission, and numerous other interior ministry officials, security chiefs and election officials.
As punishment, all 40 blacklisted individuals are barred from traveling to the EU and their financial assets were ordered frozen. The accusations included allegations of arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment of peaceful demonstrators, torture, falsifying election results, barring opposition candidates from running in the election and restricting poll observers.
