Opposition leader pushes for sustained sanctions on Belarus’ potash

May 29, BPN. Softening Western sanctions on the Belarusian potash giant is unacceptable, opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja told Portugal’s Foreign Minister João Cravinho at a virtual meeting.

Softening would undermine all the European Union’s efforts and stand in the way of European unity, her aide Franak Viačorka quoted her as saying.

The politician advocated for new EU sanctions, but not in exchange for easing the existing ones.

The Belarusian politician called on consumers in Africa and South America to reduce their dependence on Belarusian potash fertilizers by diversifying supplies.

The interlocutors also discussed ways to prevent deportations of Ukrainian children to Belarus, support for relocated Belarusian IT specialists, and Prime Minister António Costa’s invitation for Cichanoŭskaja to visit Portugal this fall.

On May 17, the Belarusian opposition leader met with Costa on the sidelines of the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik to discuss a ban on exports of Belarusian potash fertilizers among other topics.

Over the past few years, Western countries imposed sectoral sanctions on the Belarusian authorities for human rights abuses and their complicity in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Belaruskali, the Belarusian potash company, has been under sanctions since 2021.

Officials in Minsk argue that sanctions, including on potash, should be lifted because of possible increases in the world’s famine levels. Some EU politicians have proposed lifting sanctions against Belaruskali.