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This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Andrew Desiderio on on June 9, 2021.
A top American diplomat told Congress on Wednesday that the Biden administration plans to impose additional sanctions on the authoritarian regime in Belarus – a significant step as lawmakers agitate for tougher punishments against a top ally of
.
The US effort comes amid rising tensions between Minsk and the West over Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists and a free press, part of his scramble to cling to power despite having lost last year’s presidential election. Just last month, the Lukashenko regime sparked international criticism after forcing a commercial airliner to land in Belarus’ capital city to arrest a key opposition figure and journalist who was on board.
President
‘s administration is readying a harsh response to Lukashenko. Julie Fisher, the US ambassador-designate to Belarus, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the White House is “working hard on a new executive order” that will “raise the costs of the violence and the repression that the regime is inflicting.”
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