Biden Administration Weighs New Sanctions Against Belarus

The Biden administration is taking into consideration a new round of financial sanctions concentrating on Belarus and its authoritarian leader following a main dissident appealed to U.S. officers for more robust U.S. motion, according to members in conferences previous week in Washington.

The new sanctions would be in addition to punitive actions imposed by the administration earlier this year and would purpose to more isolate the leader, Alexander Lukashenko, practically a year following he initiated a crackdown on a common rebellion in the region, according to a Belarusian political adviser.

The administration’s deliberations arrive on the heels of a pay a visit to to Washington previous week by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who opposed Mr. Lukashenko in previous year’s contested election. In conferences with lawmakers and senior administration officers, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya pressed for more durable sanctions.

Ms. Tsikhanouskaya met with President Biden’s top two international-policy aides, countrywide security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of Condition Antony Blinken. Mr. Biden did not meet up with with the dissident leader.

Franak Viacorka, a senior adviser to Ms. Tsikhanouskaya, explained Condition Office officers indicated their intent to enact new sanctions, specifically on the Belarusian potash and crude-oil sectors, which Ms. Tsikhanouskaya explained are close to Mr. Lukashenko, in addition to becoming important areas of the country’s financial system.