EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrel said that European Union will look at hitting Belarus's big potash exports as well as its oil and financial sectors with new sanctions, as punishment for forcing down a Ryanair flight to arrest a journalist. In addition, the issue of importing the Russian gas to the EU through Belarus is also being discussed, Reuters reports.
According to Borell, the EU Foreign Ministries gathered in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on Thursday in order to look at targeting sectors that play a central role in the Belarussian economy, to inflict real punishment on President Alexander Lukashenko. The two main areas they discussed were the export of potash fertilizers and the transit of Russian gas.
European leaders have described Sunday's incident, in which a flight between EU members Greece and Lithuania was pressed to land in Minsk and a 26-year-old exiled dissident and 23-year-old student were arrested, as state piracy. They have promised to impose serious consequences.
"The hijacking of the plane and the detention of the two passengers is completely unacceptable, and we will start discussing implementation of the sectorial and economic sanctions," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Lisbon.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn proposed to target potash export. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the EU should consider hitting the oil sector, while Germany's Heiko Maas spoke of measures to target financial transactions, which diplomats said would probably involve preventing the EU from lending to Belarusian banks. Maas said Belarusian bond sales could be targeted too.
Exports of potash - a potassium-rich salt used in fertilizer - are one of the major sources of foreign currency for Belarus, and state firm Belaruskali says it produces 20 percent of the world's supply. The EU statistics agency said the bloc imported 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) worth of chemicals including potash from Belarus last year, as well as more than 1 billion euros worth of crude oil and related products such as fuel and lubricants.
Ministers in Lisbon said new sanctions would include a fourth round of travel bans and asset freezes. They are aiming for agreement on June 21 when they meet in Luxembourg.