Opposition politician discusses synchronization of Western sanctions with Swedish envoy

January 21, BPN. Pavieł Łatuška of the opposition’s transitional cabinet discussed a common strategy for a democratic Belarus with Stefan Gullgren, the Swedish ambassador to Poland, Łatuška’s Telegram channel reported.

The meeting also focused on synchronizing Western sanctions against Belarus and Russia, ratcheting up economic and other pressures on Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime and ensuring protection of human rights.

Łatuška informed the Swedish diplomat on recent amendments to the Belarusian citizenship law and the cabinet’s position on it. He also stressed the need to hold the Łukašenka regime accountable for human rights abuses and support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

On January 5, Łukašenka signed into law amendments allowing authorities to strip dissidents of their citizenship obtained by birth. New grounds for annulling citizenship now include a court sentence “confirming that a person participates in extremist activities or causes serious harm to Belarus’ interests, when that person is outside Belarus.”