The United States’ decision to lift sanctions on Belarus’s state airline Belavia will be a major test of the backbone of the European Union’s sanctions policy, Lithuania’s foreign minister-designate Kęstutis Budrys has said.
“This does not mean that the EU will immediately follow suit once the US has made such a decision. It will be a major test of the backbone of the EU's sanctions policy. It seems to me, we will need to pass this test, and Lithuania will certainly contribute to ensuring that we do,” Budrys told LRT on Thursday.
Budrys stressed that Lithuania would continue to back sanctions within the EU, which he argued had proved the most effective means of pursuing key goals, such as the release of political prisoners in Belarus.
“The EU, with Lithuania's strong voice, will continue its sanctions policy because we believe that these tools are more effective in achieving our goals,” he assured.
He added that while the US and Lithuania ultimately shared the same objectives – to have political prisoners released – the tools they used were not always the same.
“The EU has its own sanctions policy, and Lithuania has also adopted its own national restrictive measures. It is good when everything coincides, but it does not always do so, and then we see differences,” he said.
Budrys also rejected any suggestion that sanctions should be traded in return for the release of individuals.
“I would like to emphasize that we will definitely not give in to the trend of exchanging sanctions for people, as some would like... We support the goal, but we know from experience that these measures can lose their effectiveness very quickly,” Budrys stressed.
According to Belarusian media, White House envoy John Coale announced the lifting of US sanctions on Belarusian state airline, Belavia, at a meeting with Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday.
The White House later clarified that the move was a “limited relief package” enabling Belavia to service and purchase components for its existing fleet which includes Boeing aircraft.
Belavia has been under US sanctions since June 2022, imposed in response to Belarus’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measures have been extended several times since then. The airline also remains subject to EU sanctions.
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