Belarus: EU warns Lukashenko of sanctions over joint grouping of troops with Russia

12.10.2022, 12:47 finchannel.com

The European Commission on Monday raised the spectre of further sanctions against Belarus, urging Minsk to stop spreading “false accusations” against Ukraine and to call off a joint grouping of troops with Russia, Euronews reported. Belarus’ autocratic leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reiterated claims on Monday during a meeting with military and security officials that “carrying out strikes on the territory of Belarus is not just being discussed, it is being planned in Ukraine.” He also said that the two leaders have agreed to create a joint “regional grouping of troops,” but offered no details as to where or when such a grouping might be deployed. Foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano told reporters in Brussels that the Commission “took note of the false accusations” which he branded “totally unfounded, ridiculous” and “utterly unacceptable.”