Polish Prime Minister: I Intend To Move For Strengthening EU Sanctions Against Belarusian Regime

Belarus is being used by Russia to bypass sanctions.

On Wednesday, during his visit to the Netherlands, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that he would move for tightening EU sanctions against Belarus at the European Council, Polskie Radio reported.

Morawiecki reminded that on May 29, Poland imposed a new package of sanctions against Belarus in connection with recent actions of Lukashenka's regime and gross human rights violations.

"I'll also ask the European Council to toughen sanctions against Belarus, because we can clearly see how much Belarus is dependent on Russia. We can feel it in the manufactured migration attack, which we have defended against," Morawiecki said at a press conference after a meeting with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.

He noted that Belarus is used by Russia to circumvent sanctions.

"Therefore, Poland is trying very hard not only to comply with these sanctions, but to strengthen them, to eliminate loopholes. It is important to make Russia feel as deeply as possible the impact of sanctions on its economy - and so far it feels too little".

Therefore, Morawiecki continued, Poland and some other countries are negotiating on tightening of sanctions against Belarus.

"Of course, actions of the entire European Union are crucial. <...> I will raise this question in the next European Council in a couple of weeks. On the one hand, it will be a strengthening of mechanisms to reinforce the sanctions packages and, on the other hand, a signal to all who want to cooperate closely with the Kremlin that it is not worth it," the Polish prime minister said.