The leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya met with the US Ambassador to the Republic Julie Fisher, they discussed the introduction of new sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko and his inner circle. The announcement of this appeared in the official Telegram-channel policy.
During the meeting, the former presidential candidate said that to improve the effectiveness of sanctions Washington would cost to establish cooperation with the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU) and Canada. She added that the United States could also provide assistance to the independent media, families of the repressed and private businesses that have suffered from the actions of the official Minsk.
Tikhanovskaya stressed that the new sanctions should be targeted, and also called on the ambassador to help release all political prisoners. “The release and rehabilitation of political prisoners is a prerequisite for starting a dialogue, and bargaining with political prisoners is inappropriate,” the message says.
On December 17, the European Union approved the third package of sanctions against Belarus in connection with repressions against civil society. 29 new names and 7 enterprises were added to the sanctions list. Later, the United Kingdom and the United States joined the new sanctions.
In Belarus, protests have continued for the sixth month since the presidential elections on August 9, 2020. The actions are harshly suppressed by the police and riot police. Tens of thousands of people were detained, and many spoke of torture and beatings in isolation wards. Four people were killed in clashes with security forces.