Ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 21 September, the EaP CSF Steering Committee urges the government of the Republic of Cyprus not to delay the implementation of sanctions against individuals who are responsible for the falsification of the 9 August presidential election in Belarus.

On 17 September, the European Parliament adopted Resolution 2020/2779(RSP) on the situation in Belarus with an overwhelming majority of 574 votes in favour, to 37 against. The approval of the Resolution is a strong sign of Members of the European Parliament’s solidarity with the Belarusian people in their struggle for fundamental rights and freedom.

This Resolution also expressed the European Parliament’s strong support for the adoption of sanctions against individuals responsible for the election fraud, violence and repression in Belarus and called on the European Council to implement these sanctions immediately.

In light of this strong support by the European Parliament for EU sanctions against individuals in the Belarusian regime, the EaP CSF Steering Committee is strongly concerned about the media reports that the government of the Republic of Cyprus is blocking the implementation of these sanctions until sanctions are also adopted against officials in Turkey.

It should be underlined that on 17 September, the European Parliament highlighted in its Resolution 2020/2774(RSP) that any violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its Exclusive Economic Zone cannot and will not be tolerated, and appropriate measures should be taken against Turkey should it continue to engage in illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The issue of the ongoing dispute between Cyprus and Turkey is entirely separate from the Belarusian people’s struggle for freedom. Therefore, the Steering Committee strongly urges the Cypriot government to reconsider its decision to delay the adoption of sanctions against individuals in the Belarusian regime.

Members of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Zaur Akbar, Youth Club Public Union, Azerbaijan

Olga Chyzhova, Digital Communication Network, Estonia

Ina Coseru, National Environmental Center, Moldova

Lousineh Hakobyan, Europe in Law Association, Armenia

Mikayel Hovhannisyan, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Armenia

Shahla Ismayil, Women’s Association for Rational Development (WARD), Azerbaijan

Maksym Koriavets, Polissya Foundation for International and Regional Studies, Ukraine

Mikalai Kvantaliani, Association “New Group”, Belarus

Natia Kuprashvili, Journalism Resource Center, Georgia

Adrian Lupusor, Expert-Grup, Moldova

Tatiana Marian, National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova

Sofia Strive, ForumCiv, Sweden

Yurii Vdovenko, Center for Cross-Border Cooperation, Ukraine