Belarusian Opposition's Sanctions List Handed To EU, Includes Lukashenko - Tikhanovskaya

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published September 30, 2020 | 11:20 AM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2020) Belarusian opposition has handed the European Union a sanctions list of officials responsible for quelling protests in the eastern European country, and President Alexander Lukashenko is among them, ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told France's RFI.

Earlier in September, Tikhanovskaya said that the opposition was drafting a "Taraikovsky list," which would include Belarusian government and security officials, to send it to the EU, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States. The list is named after Alexander Taraikovsky, who died during an August 10 protest against the presidential election outcome in Minsk. The Belarusian Interior Ministry denies that he was shot with a firearm, insisting that only non-lethal weapons were used in the crackdown on protests.

"Certainly," Tikhanovskaya told the French radio, when asked whether Lukashenko is on the sanctions list.

She did not reveal Names of other targeted officials.

Tikhanovskaya, who met with President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, also spoke in favor of a dialogue between the Belarusian opposition and Russia.

"Perhaps we need to make more efforts now to start a dialogue with Russia, so that communication with the leaders of other countries is not perceived as something negative," she went on.

According to Tikhanovskaya, representatives of the Belarusian opposition told Macron that they are ready for a dialogue with the Russian authorities and this communication is important for them. The French leader, she noted, supports this desire and is ready to "help in every possible way."

Tikhanovskaya came in second in the August 9 election in Belarus, behind incumbent Lukashenko, who won a sixth term in office by a landslide. Tikhanovskaya refuses to concede her defeat, throwing support behind ongoing rallies while being in self-exile in Lithuania. The EU, including France, rejects the election results and no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president.