Cichanoŭskaja aide: no discussion of partial sanctions lift in EU

June 19, BPN. An aide to a Belarusian opposition leader has said that European Union (EU) officials do have not discussed a partial lifting of sanctions on Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime in exchange for freedom for political prisoners, following reports that the issue may be raised at today’s meeting in Brussels.

Novy Čas, a Belarusian news site, said that EU officials might talk about removing sanctions from Belarus’ aviation sector.

Franak Viačorka, an aide to Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, said these restrictions were imposed for the forced landing of a European airliner in Minsk in 2021 and unrelated to arrests and reprisals. “They will not be lifted if a couple of people are freed,” he said in a statement to BPN.

In his view, the regime is not ready for negotiations and concessions.