Belarus opposition leader says she gave sanctions list to Biden administration

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she gave the Biden administration a specific list of targets she would like to see sanctioned as she pushed for the United States and international community to ratchet up pressure on the Lukashenko regime.

Tsikhanouskaya, who is in Washington for meetings with senior administration officials, told reporters Tuesday that she delivered a list of companies that are monopolized by the regime of Belarus' strongman President Alexander Luakshenko "and his cronies," including Belaruskali potash as well as oil, wood and steel enterprises. The Belarusian opposition politician called on the administration to enact stronger sanctions, saying that the she believed the initial tranches were more symbolic and "moral sanctions" -- "they didn't hit the regime and I think that we really lost time," she said. Tsikhanouskaya said that the sectoral sanctions imposed by the European Union following Lukashenko's forced diversion of a Ryanair flight were strong, and said the US could follow that policy "and also look at possibility to impose sectoral sanctions on Russia."