Ukraine intends to join the EU sanctions against Belarus, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with BBC News Ukraine.
“I would like to look at the final legal decision on who is on this list. Yes, we are determined to join these sanctions, because here we are already talking about issues of policy consistency,” Kuleba said.
He said that Ukraine, for its part, is doing everything possible to help the people of Belarus in this difficult situation.
However, the foreign minister said that the price of such solidarity of Ukraine is much higher than for the EU or NATO countries, because Ukraine is not under the “umbrella of protection” of these associations, and the expansion of Russia’s influence in Belarus threatens Ukrainian security.
The Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine plans to join the personal sanctions against certain representatives of the Belarusian leadership, but Kyiv does not plan to impose any economic sanctions or restrict trade.
“As for economic interaction, we do not plan to attack. We do not plan to make Belarus even worse, so we wish it only well. We do not plan to have any embargo or any restrictions on trade,” Kuleba said.
The minister also said that this position could change if Russia establishes control over Belarusian enterprises.
“That is when it is needed to analyze each major contract, see if additional risks have appeared, because we have high cooperation in the military and trade sector,” he said.
Kuleba said that Ukraine will not reduce the level of diplomatic representation in Minsk.
“I see no reason to break off diplomatic relations or to lower the presence of Ukraine in Belarus to the level of charge d’affaires, as we have with Russia,” the minister said.
This means that the Ukrainian ambassador will continue to work in Belarus.
As reported, the EU Council approved additional individual sanctions against Belarusian officials on Friday through a written procedure.
The sanctions list includes 40 people who are considered in the European Union to be involved in the falsification of the results of the presidential elections on August 9 and violence against demonstrators during peaceful protests. These restrictive measures introduce a ban on entering the European Union and freezing bank assets.
