Cichanoŭskaja calls for clamp-down on companies helping Łukašenka evade sanctions

December 6, Pozirk. Western sanctions are ineffective because of loopholes that allow the governments of Belarus and Russia to evade them, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington yesterday.

The situation needs to be thoroughly analyzed because the Belarusian government is dodging sanctions and trading with its neighbors, Cichanoŭskaja said. She said the West is targeting Russia’s imports and Belarus’ exports, and the two regimes are using this to help each other.

Cichanoŭskaja said that it is necessary to consider the tools that will allow to clamp down on all companies involved in sanctions evasion. She pointed to the US secondary sanctions mechanism to punish circumvention. She urged the Americans to convince their European allies to establish a similar system.

Asked about the importance of a US special envoy for Belarus, Cichanoŭskaja said that the person would serve as a bridge between the United States and Belarusian pro-democracy forces and encourage Washington to develop a comprehensive strategy for this relationship.

The democratic opposition leader praised the former special envoy, Julie Fisher, for helping her side to establish cooperation with the State Department and Congress.

Congressman Thomas Kean, Jr. said there has been no special envoy for Belarus since June 2022 and urged the Biden administration to resolve this immediately.