Press Statement from Frances Fitzgerald MEP
Thursday 3rd March 2022
Sweeping additional sanctions on Belarus needed - Fitzgerald
Belarus must be excluded from SWIFT
Frances Fitzgerald, MEP for Dublin, today (Thursday), called for further sweeping sanctions on Belarus as a consequence of the operational and resource support the Belarussian government is providing to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
“The government of Belarus, led by dictator Alexander Lukashenko, has chosen to align itself with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, and against the rest of the world. In choosing to align with Russia, and by providing operational and resource support to the Russian government as they continue their invasion, the Belarussian government should now be targeted with sanctions additional to the ones already placed on the government after their rigged election in the summer of 2020,” said MEP Fitzgerald.
“While the EU has put forward a new proposal for sanctions on Belarus, targeting the wood, steel and potash sectors, further maximum pressure must be placed on Belarus to cut off any support that Russia is receiving from neighbouring countries, through a sweeping and crushing package of sanctions.
“In parallel, investment in research to advance more environmentally friendly methods of producing potash to ensure sustainable production of European food are essential. I believe that the European Union can work collaboratively with the government of Canada, as the world’s leading supplier of potash, to that end.
“As part of new sanctions on Belarus, there must be a ban on Belarussian access to the SWIFT international payment messaging system. If Belarus is not excluded from SWIFT, this leaves a potential loophole that would allow Russian banks to execute payments through Belarus. This must be stopped immediately.
“Recent pictures of Alexander Lukashenko with a map which includes Moldova in its aspirations for invasion are deeply concerning and every possible action must be taken to sever the Russian reliance on Belarus to supplement their war effort, through sweeping economic sanctions,” she concluded.
ENDS
