A meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council was held in Brussels, Belgium on September 21. In particular, the meeting focused on the EU’s response to the latest political developments in Belarus.
Foreign Ministers and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell met with Belarusian political leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to discuss the latest political developments in Belarus and condemned the ongoing crackdown on protesters.
During the meeting behind closed doors, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau called the EU to create European peacekeeping forces (with the assistance of the United States) and to deploy them in Belarus in order to prevent and eliminate threats to peace and security in this country and Europe, as well as prevent Russian troops from entering Belarus.
Peacekeeping Forces will help Belarus navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace, to protect population against threats and contributing to a secure environment.
Such a statement was probably the result of a meeting between US Secretary of State M. Pompeo and Lithuanian Foreign Minister L. Linkevičius on September 16.
According to Linkevičius, this idea was also supported by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the Belarusian opposition.
“This morning ministers met with Belarus’ National Leader S. Tikhanovskaya. She very clearly expressed request of support to Belarusians who demand free elections, to release political prisoners, to support civil society and introduce sanctions against those involved in crackdown,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The EU has to send a clear message that agreements between the Belarusian leadership and Russia, which may restrict the sovereignty and independence of the country, will not be recognized,” Linkevičius said.
“It is important that the European Union’s voice be heard. We support the strong and clear statements by President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell, but it is high time the EU took concrete action. The EU must immediately impose sanctions against persons and officials responsible for the violence and alleged crimes committed against their own citizens,” said Linkevičius. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister noted that the scope and list of sanctions must reflect the extent of the crimes that were being committed.