Minsk could bar hundreds of opposition figures from leaving country - presidential official
MINSK. May 12 (Interfax) - Belarusian authorities could bar about 200 opposition activists from exiting the country and expel the ambassadors of a number of European Union states if the EU imposes economic sanctions on Belarus, a source from the Belarusian presidential secretariat told Interfax on Thursday.
"The Belarusian side is calm about these statements on sanctions, and we are working on a number of retaliatory measures. The comprehensive plan of possible retaliatory measures includes a foreign travel ban for a number of Belarusian opposition figures who have actively called on the EU authorities to impose economic sanctions upon the Belarusian people," the source said.
"The preliminary list already includes more than 200 people. They will be barred from exiting the country, including through Russian territory, taking into account the formation of a common migration policy between the two countries," he said.
"Some ambassadors of EU countries in Belarus, who consistently forced their governments to pursue an anti-Belarusian course instead of developing mutually respectful and friendly relations with the host country, will be told to leave the country," he said.