< p>European Union countries have united to impose a new set of sanctions on Belarus. This decision, as reported by Reuters with information from European diplomats and Belgian officials, aims to close a major loophole that allowed Russia to circumvent existing punitive measures, reports BTA.
This week, the EU adopted its 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which includes clauses strengthening the liability of European companies exporting through non-EU countries.
Efforts to close sanctions loopholes have intensified since last year, and diplomats say Belarus is one of the biggest.
The EU has been working since January last year to bring sanctions already imposed on Belarus before Russia's invasion into line with measures in response to the war, but the country's important export of potassium carbonate, also known as potash, has been one of the stumbling blocks.
According to one European diplomat, the text unifies measures on dual-use goods, such as the chips found in basic appliances, as well as cutting-edge technology and military products.
A provision that some countries had insisted could allow Belarusian potash and other agricultural goods to be exported through Europe in the event of a price spike was dropped from the sanctions package.