BRUSSELS, August 14. /TASS/: The European Union should introduce sanctions against those who "violated democratic values" in Belarus, President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen stated on Friday.
"We need additional sanctions against those who violated democratic values or abused human rights in Belarus," she wrote on her Twitter page.
The head of the EC expressed confidence that the emergency meeting of the EU council scheduled for Friday "will demonstrate our strong support for the rights of the people in Belarus to fundamental freedoms & democracy."
Foreign ministers of the EU states will conduct an unscheduled video conference on Friday on the situation in Belarus where protest rallies after the August 9 presidential election continue. During the conference, they will exchange opinions on the possible EU actions, including the introduction of sanctions against Belarus and possible activation of the support for the opposition. So far they haven’t achieved consensus. They may return to the issue of sanctions at the next scheduled meeting of the EU top diplomats on August 27-28 in Berlin.
The presidential election was held in Belarus on August 9. Preliminary results of the Central Election Committee show incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko securing his reelection with 80.08% of the vote, while his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 10.09%. After exit poll results were announced in the evening of August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other regions of the country, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement forces. Since Sunday, residents have been taking to the streets in the evenings. As a result, according to the republic’s Interior Ministry, over 6,000 people were detained and dozens of policemen and protesters were injured.
