During the suppression of protests in Belarus, it has become a matter of flagrant violations of human rights. Against this background, the debate on the imposition of sanctions against Minsk continues among the EU countries. A list of 40 people awaiting a ban on entry to the European Union, as well as the freezing of bank accounts, has already been compiled. This measure requires the consent of all EU countries — and here the position of Cyprus became an obstacle. Observers write about what is behind the veto from Cyprus, as well as what explains such a sluggish reaction of Berlin and Brussels.
The tentacles of Moscow have reached here too!
Lietuvos Rytas believes that Russia is involved in this:
“Lukashenko, who enthusiastically rushed into the arms of Russia, demonstrates to the West that he does not take seriously neither peaceful demands for resignation nor the threat of sanctions. And the dictator has every reason to do so. Brussels is unable to punish even a couple of dozen regime representatives — for example, by banning them from entering the EU and freezing their accounts. The formal reason is Cyprus, which has euphoric support behind it for Greece, which is in a wedge with Turkey, is vetoing until the EU takes action against Ankara. It cannot be ruled out that pressure on Greece and Cyprus, in particular, is exerted by Russia, which is why it blocks the imposition of sanctions against Belarus.
Germany is just afraid
Gazeta Wyborcza criticizes Berlin for its passivity:
“Germany, which has held the presidency of the Council of the EU since July and thus has the ability to convene summits and set the agenda, only helps to put Russia in an advantageous position… Senior Russian officials argue that Navalny may have been poisoned outside of Russia. According to a publication in Le Monde, Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron that Navalny could have taken the newcomer himself! And what about Germany? There was no reaction from it. It is also unclear why Germany was unable to convince tiny Cyprus to introduce symbolic sanctions against Lukashenko.”
Can’t you see?
Politis columnist Scheiner Levent is addressing the EU and its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrel, directly:
“There is no democracy in Turkey anymore. The country is entirely under Erdogan’s control. Both the judiciary and the media have been destroyed. Prisons are overcrowded. Mayors and deputies of the People’s Democratic Party, appointed to their posts by the results of elections, have been languishing in prisons for years. Writers, intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, and artists are also locked up. Do you see what is happening in Belarus, but do you not see what is happening in Turkey? Do you see who Bashar al-Assad is and do you not see that Erdogan overpowered him with his dictatorship?”
