France’s Europe minister called on Cyprus to stop blocking EU sanctions against Belarus by linking them to restrictive measures against Turkey, stressing that the EU must “go fast” in sanctioning the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
The EU’s inability to adopt sanctions against Belarusian officials has become a headache for the bloc, and failure to reach agreement at a meeting on Monday triggered a strong warning from the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, that the credibility of the bloc was “at stake.”
At a POLITICO live interview in Brussels on Tuesday, France’s Europe Minister Clément Beaune said he understood Cyprus’ “stress” about contentious Turkish drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean and said France and the EU were on Nicosia’s side.
Yet he voiced disapproval of Cyprus’ insistence on linking EU sanctions against Belarus to action against Turkey. As the EU needs unanimity to take foreign policy decisions, Cyprus has held up the restrictions on Belarus.
“We have to go where the issue is: Cyprus. And we say to them: Please, let’s go fast,” Beaune said, adding: “I was clear on that yesterday … with my Cypriot colleagues saying, ‘OK, you should unlock the Belarus sanctions, because I think you are not doing a favor to yourself by creating this link.'”
Beaune said that Cyprus was insisting on the link because “they have a doubt about the level of support from the EU” in reacting to Turkey’s activities, and argued that a strong signal of support could help to resolve the deadlock.
“I think it helps — it doesn’t unlock [the situation] right now, but it helps — [to show that] France and I hope the whole EU is with you on protection against Turkish provocations,” he said.
Some EU diplomats have criticized Paris’ support for Cyprus, saying it empowered the country to insist on the sanctions link, but Beaune said that, “I don’t think France is leading Cyprus to create this linkage.”
EU leaders were scheduled to discuss potential sanctions against Turkey at a summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels but the meeting was postponed by a week on Tuesday after European Council President Charles Michel came into contact with a security officer who had tested positive for coronavirus.