Belarus: Roman Protasevich

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the Government agree and we are co-ordinating our response with all our allies and partners, including the US, the EU and other countries. The Foreign Secretary has discussed Belarus directly with the French, German and Lithuanian Foreign Ministers, and with the former Secretary of State and Vice-President of the US during his visit to Washington in September. The Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas has had extensive contact with Ministers in the Baltic states and Scandinavia and with state secretaries in the US and Germany. As noble Lords can imagine, those discussions have escalated dramatically in recent days.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, it is clearly vital that actions are synchronised in this appalling situation, especially on sanctions. We are hearing from the Belarusian protest leaders that they are working actively with the EU and US but have been unable to secure adequate contact with the UK, especially on sanctions relating to money through London. Can I link the Minister and his department to the relevant people, and can he tell me what formal structures the Government will now put in place to ensure that they work in lock-step with the whole of the EU on matters such as this?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

My Lords, this outlandish action by Lukashenko will clearly have serious implications, and the Belarusian regime is going to have to feel the consequences. We are working with our allies on our response and will continue to consider all the options available to us to persuade the authorities to change their current course, including of course further sanctions. I cannot speculate publicly on any future designations but, as we demonstrated following the flawed elections last August in Belarus, the UK is ready to act.