Polish ambassador to EU promises further sanctions against Belarus

Poland's ambassador to the European Union has told PAP that a decision by the bloc to impose sanctions on Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko regime is just the beginning and that more will come.

Andrzej Sadoś told PAP intensive work was ongoing on a broader range of sanctions targetting all regime officials responsible for a migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border as well as businesses and other entities supporting the regime.

EU member states' ambassadors adopted sanctions against Minsk at a meeting in Brussels, targetting people and entities responsible for the migration crisis, including the national airline, Belavia.

"In line with the announcement, we have taken a unanimous decision to call to account people and enterprises engaged in the hybrid attack on the Polish and EU border, and for persecuting civil society, including Poles in Belarus and the media," Sadoś said.

"The Belavia airline is on the sanctions list. These sanctions are just the beginning, just today we were working intensively on a further, much wider package of sanctions (affecting - PAP) all regime officials responsible for the attack on Poland as well as businesses, entities supporting the regime," he added.

The sanctions have yet to be formally approved by the European Council, which is likely to occur on Thursday. The restrictions concern entry bans to the EU and asset freezes.