OREANDA-NEWS. Member countries of the European Union failed to agree on the introduction of sanctions against high-ranking Belarusian officials due to the position of Cyprus.

Agencies Bloomberg and DPA write about this with reference to sources. According to them, Cyprus is seeking the EU to add to the sanctions list seven Turkish companies drilling in the disputed offshore section. Until Brussels takes appropriate measures, Nicosia refuses to support the joint decision of the Union countries. This led to the fact that the decision on Belarus was blocked, since to make foreign policy decisions, the unanimous position of all EU member states is required.

To gain common support for sanctions against Belarusian officials, the EU authorities had to agree to accelerate work on the introduction of sanctions against Turkey. However, due to the fact that negotiations on this issue have not yet been carried out, the restrictions on Minsk are being postponed.

Bloomberg sources say that a progress in this direction is expected by the end of September.