Commentary by NAM on new sanctions by the US and Canada against the regime:
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 12 organizations and 10 individuals due to the Lukashenko regime's support for Russian aggression against Ukraine and its involvement in evading sanctions. These sanctions target state-owned enterprises and key defense sector companies in Belarus. Canada has also implemented sanctions in coordination with the US. These new measures signify international efforts to address the anti-democratic actions of the Lukashenko regime and its profiting from supporting Russia's war against Ukraine.
NAM has long highlighted the existence of extensive networks intended to bypass international sanctions and assist the Russian military-industrial complex. OFAC's decision validates our findings, revealing the involvement of Belarusian state-owned enterprises in supporting Russia's aggressive actions.
It is worth noting that democratic forces played an active role in uncovering some of these illicit schemes. We also would like to stress the fact that several individuals and organizations included in Canada's sanctions list were proposed based on our initiative.
One of the networks linked to the Black Shield company has been selling weapons for use in various military conflicts in Asia and Africa for nearly a decade. This underscores the hypocrisy of a regime that claims to be peace-loving while enabling the use of Belarusian weapons in war-torn regions of the world's poorest countries.
Unfortunately, the regime and its affiliated business entities have failed to learn from past lessons. They continue to disregard international law by establishing new shell companies to evade sanctions. This endless cat-and-mouse game can only be halted through decisive measures aimed at eradicating the root of the problem.
We urge the international community to take stronger action to help put an end to these destructive activities of the Lukashenko regime.
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