EU leaders expected to endorse Belarus sanctions move

European Union leaders were expected to call for sanctions against Belarus political leaders at the end of their two-day summit talks today, adding that the recent presidential vote there was “fundamentally flawed”.

In a draft declaration to be endorsed by the 25 EU leaders in Brussels they called Belarus “a sad exception ... on a continent of open and democratic societies”.

They said the election result, which saw incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko returned to office for a third consecutive term violated international democratic norms.

They concluded that the 25-nation bloc “is therefore determined to take restrictive measures against those politically and administratively responsible for violations of international electoral standards”.

The EU has already in place a visa travel ban against six Belarus officials, but it does not include Lukashenko.

The EU declaration comes after police in Minsk stormed the opposition tent camp there early this morning, detaining hundreds of demonstrators.