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Russia Should Also Be Target of Belarus Sanctions, Former Diplomats Say

Jamie Dettmer

   FRANKFURT, GERMANY - As European governments tussle over imposing
   sanctions on Belarus after the results of last month's election, some
   former diplomats and analysts are urging those nations not only to
   target President Alexander Lukashenko and his top officials in Minsk
   but also his allies in Russia.

   "The limited scale of these sanctions may undermine their
   effectiveness," said Anders Ăslund, a former Swedish diplomat.

   He said an important aim of any sanctions should be not only to punish
   those involved in the disputed Aug. 9 election but also "to deter both
   Belarusians and Russians from assisting the Lukashenko regime in its
   ongoing crackdown against the country's pro-democracy movement."

   Ăslund said just as the West aims to punish "the enforcers of
   Lukashenko's violent crackdown," it should identify and "sanction his
   Russian collaborators."

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