DISINFO: The EU sanctions were imposed to impoverish common people
SUMMARY
Belarus is extremely important to the West because it is the last element in the “security” cordon around Russia. Therefore, all the forces are currently thrown on Minsk. When they realised that nothing worked out, they found an excuse with the plane. If there was no plane, there would be something else. We perfectly understand why sanctions were introduced. There is still no international investigation and committee conclusions [on the Ryanair flight], but the sanctions are already in place. The sanctions were introduced in order to cause the impoverishment of common people, pushing them to rebellion. This plan will fail.
If Belarus was not a member of the ODKB and a Russian ally, in 2020, there might have been a military intervention in this country as it happened in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Syria in the name of “freedom and democracy”.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about sanctions, the West and Belarus.
The EU imposed new restrictive measures against the Belarusian regime to respond to the escalation of serious human rights violations in Belarus and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition and journalists, as well as to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk on 23 May 2021 and the related detention of journalist Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega.
The claim that Europe used the situation around the Ryanair plane as a formal pretext for the introduction of sanctions is a conspiracy theory. Read more messages connected to Ryanair flight 4978 here.
The EU sanctions are carefully calibrated to target Lukashenka's regime. They include, for example prohibition to directly or indirectly sell, supply, transfer or export to anyone in Belarus equipment, technology or software intended primarily for use in the monitoring or interception of the internet and of telephone communications.
The EU continues to support the Belarusian people and civil society and outlined a 3 billion EUR economic support package to a future democratic Belarus.
This message appeared in the same article as the claim that "A 'female kitchen maid' unable to combine two words could not have won Belarusian elections".