The British government has imposed new sanctions on Belarus targeting exports and internet propaganda as Minsk continues to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The package of measures, dubbed “Belarus II,” will take effect immediately after the legislation passed by the lower house on Thursday. These include a ban on imports from Belarus of gold, cement, timber and rubber, which are the regime’s source of income.
Belarus is already under EU and UK sanctions over its role in aiding Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, which has dealt a major blow to the Belarusian economy.
However, the discrepancy between the sanctions imposed on Moscow and those imposed on Minsk allows some trade to continue with Russia via Belarus.
The sanctions imposed on Thursday aim to close some of those loopholes by more closely aligning sanctions on the two countries, including further restricting Belarus’ access to British financial markets.
Britain imposed its first round of sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in February last year, immediately after Russia’s all-out invasion.
Another wave of sanctions imposed in July last year imposed sanctions worth around £60m on the Belarusian regime, banning exports of refined products, advanced technology components and luxury goods from the UK to Belarus and blocking imports of Belarusian steel to the UK.
Lukashenko himself has been subject to a travel ban and asset freeze since 2020, when he became the first national leader to be personally sanctioned in the UK.
The embargo on Belarusian timber, cement and rubber exports brings the UK in line with EU sanctions on Minsk to further limit foreign exchange earnings for the regime.
The EU has sought for six months to impose similar anti-circumvention measures on Minsk, but the 27 member states have so far failed to reach an agreement after Lithuania opposed a proposed derogation from Belarusian fertilizer exports, which some other EU members say is necessary for farmers in third countries . Belarus is one of the largest potash producers in the world.
Additional reporting by Raphael Minder in Warsaw