Russia, Kazakhstan slam EU Belarus sanctions

Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan have criticized EU-backed sanctions against Belarus, saying they could pose a threat to the Customs Union, which includes Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the states said in a joint statement. “These measures [sanctions] create false barriers in trade as well as groundless impediments to economic ties…within the Customs Union,” Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan said in the statement. “It will have negative consequences mainly for ordinary people.” The EU announced in late February it had blacklisted another 21 Belarusian officials over their alleged involvement in the ongoing crackdown on the country’s opposition. Belarus, in response, ordered the head of the EU delegation to Belarus, Ambassador Maira Mora, and Polish Ambassador Leszek Szerepka, to leave Minsk. More than 200 people were already on the blacklist, including President Alexander Lukashenko, two of his sons, and most of the country's top leadership. They have been banned from entering the EU and their European assets have been frozen. In November 2011, the Russian, Belarusian and Kazakh presidents signed a declaration on Eurasian economic integration, a roadmap for an integration processes aimed at creating the Eurasian Economic Union, which will be based on the Customs Union and a common economic space among the three countries.