Sanctions against Russia
79 Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 March 2023
Clearly, there are countries that are sitting on the fence at the moment—you
just have to look at how people vote at the UN. Thinking about some of those
countries, they clearly might play a role in resolving this conflict, so the last
thing we want to do is antagonise them by targeting them with the secondary
sanctions…
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So far, allies have not imposed secondary sanctions on countries that have
continued to trade with Russia. They have, however, moved to impose
sanctions on those countries considered to be actively supporting Russia in
the conduct of its war in Ukraine.
5.1 Belarus
Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Belarus was subject to US, UK and EU
sanctions for its suppression of civil society, undermining democracy and for
its continued violation of human rights.
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Further sanctions have been imposed since February 2022 for Belarus' role in
destabilising Ukraine, undermining or threatening Ukraine's territorial
integrity, sovereignty or independence and for actively facilitating Russia's
actions in Ukraine.
Many of the economic, trade and transport sanctions imposed on Russia have
been extended to Belarus, along with individual sanctions on President
Lukashenko and other senior government officials.
Following a meeting on 4 November 2022, G7 Foreign Minister's issued a
statement indicating their willingness to go further, should it be necessary:
We will continue to impose economic costs on Russia and on other countries,
individuals or entities providing military support for Moscow's war of
aggression […]
If the Belarusian authorities more directly involve Belarus in Russia's war, the
G7 will impose overwhelming additional costs on the regime.
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Further reading:
• Financial sanctions, Belarus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• EU restrictive measures against Belarus - Consilium (europa.eu)
• Belarus Sanctions - United States Department of State
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Treasury Select Committee, Defeating Putin: the development, implementation and impact of
economic sanctions on Russia, HC1186, 23 March 2022
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See, for example, UK sanctions relating to the Republic of Belarus
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G7 Foreign Minister's Statement, 4 November 2022
