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50 I Eastern Europe bne August 2024
the threat of sanctions, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just completed a similar two-day visit to Moscow in defiance of Western pressure to cut business ties with Russia and signed off on a string of deals to bolster trade and investment. Modi likewise gave Putin
a bear hug on their first meeting and defiantly said Western criticism would be ignored in the face of what is in India’s own national interests.
The Biden administration has become increasingly aggressive in its meetings
with Xi this year. Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen travelled to Beijing early this year to meet Xi, and both threatened Xi with sanctions and trade tariffs if Beijing didn’t reduce
its cooperation with Moscow. Xi’s entreaties to put relations back on a more consolatory and cooperative basis were ignored.
Blinken has been a Russia, China hawk since he took over as Secretary of State two years ago, calling Russia an “enemy”
and China the “leading US rival” in his first major foreign policy speech in March 2021.
The new escalation in tensions threatens to undo any progress
made in US-China relations during
the November meeting between US President Joe Biden and Xi in California. At that meeting, Biden had warned
Xi about interfering in the 2024 presidential election, but evidence of China's substantial role in supporting Russia's war effort was not yet available.
EU expands sanctions regime on Belarus bne IntelliNews
The Council of the European Union adopted a new set of sanctions targeting the Belarusian economy, aiming to replicate some of the restric- tive measures imposed on Russia and inhibt the republic’s role as a transit route for sanctioned goods, reports European Pravda, citing the Council of Europe.
On June 30 the EU also hiked the tariffs on the import of grain from Russia and Belarus to Europe to 50% in an effort to limit Europe’s dependence on grain and to free up space of more grain imports to Europe from Ukraine.
“The Council today adopted restric-
tive measures targeting the Belarusian economy, in view of the regime’s involve- ment in Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. These comprehensive measures aim at mirroring several of the restric- tive measures already in place against Russia, and thereby address the issue of circumvention stemming from the high degree of integration existing between the Russian and Belarusian economies,” the Council said in a statement.
Belarus has responded to the growing European pressure by rattling its nuclear sabre. Minsk is ready to use non-strategic nuclear weapons if its sovereignty and independence are
www.bne.eu
jeopardized, Belarusian First Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveiko said on June 30.
"One of the last arguments and theses, which serve as a restraining factor is the re-deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons in our country. We have learnt how to handle these weapons, we
can use them confidently and we are capable of doing so. You can be sure, we will do this if our country’s sovereignty and independence are at risk," he said in an interview with the ONT television channel.
On March 25, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that at Minsk’s request, Moscow would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus,
The Council's decision extends the
ban on exporting dual-use goods and technologies, as well as advanced technologies to Belarus. Additional restrictions have been introduced on the export of goods that could enhance Belarus' industrial potential, maritime navigation, and luxury items including top of the line European cars that are still reaching Moscow via Minsk.
The EU will also prohibit the direct or indirect import, purchase, or transfer
of gold, diamonds, helium, coal, and mineral products, including crude oil, from Belarus coming from Russia. This measure is complemented by a new ban on exporting goods and technologies suitable for use in oil refining and the liquefaction of natural gas to Belarus.
The Council of the EU also prohibits the provision of certain services to Belarus, its government, state agencies, corporations, or agents, as well as to any individual or legal entity acting on their behalf or under their direction. These services include accounting, architectural and engineering services, advertising, and market research services.
Additionally, the EU extends the ban on the transport of goods by road through EU territory with trailers and semi- trailers registered in Belarus, including when transported by trucks registered outside of Belarus.
The decision is part of the latest fourteenth sanctions package on Russia that is increasingly including Belarus
as a Russian proxy. The sanctions mandates that EU exporters include
a "no-Belarus clause" in their future contracts. This clause prohibits the re-export to Belarus or for use in Belarus of critical goods and technologies,