EU ambassadors agree on new sanctions against Belarus to prevent schemes to circumvent anti-Russian restrictions

European Union ambassadors have agreed on a new package of sanctions against Belarus, according to Belgium, which holds the EU presidency.

The country's authorities tweeted that the new package will "strengthen the measures introduced in response to the invasion of Ukraine" and will, among other things, help "combat sanctions circumvention."

Reuters reports, citing European diplomats, that the new EU sanctions against Belarus relate to dual-use goods, such as chips for consumer electronics.

According to the agency, sanctions have also been imposed on military and high-tech goods.

Belgium, which holds the EU presidency, said that on Wednesday, EU ambassadors agreed on a new package of sanctions against Belarus. Among other things, they should close the loopholes that Russia used to circumvent European sanctions imposed over its aggression against Ukraine.

The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus before the Russian invasion. They were related to the falsification of the 2020 presidential election results and the brutal suppression of mass protests that erupted after the vote.

Since January of this year, the EU has been working to supplement the sanctions measures to match the restrictions imposed after the full-scale invasion, Reuters notes.

According to the agency's interlocutors, the provision that allowed Belarusian potash and other agricultural products to be exported through Europe in the event of sharp price spikes was removed from the approved document on sanctions against Belarus.

Background. Following the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions, the first European company has refused to buy Russian liquefied natural gas. On 26 July, a ban on the purchase of LNG from Russia through EU terminals will come into effect.