Foreign Conflicts
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Seán Ó Fearghaíl (FF), Kildare South

I agree with the Minister of State because it is a tightrope situation. I think most of us in this country would look to what was said by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is a charismatic leader many of us in this House have met. She displayed tremendous courage in taking up the baton after her husband was arrested and has effectively been running a Belarusian Government in exile. She has said the European Union sanctions have a much stronger impact and must remain in place until long-term changes are achieved, including an end to the regime’s involvement in the Ukraine war, the restoration of Belarus's sovereignty and its transformation into a democratic economy, which would appear to be a long way away. She said:
Without sanctions and international isolation, the Lukashenka regime would not have begun releasing political prisoners. It is not acting out of humanity – sanctions hurt, isolation hurts, and he understands that he has reached a dead end. That is why he is willing to hand over even his most dangerous opponents in exchange for relief. But lifting or substantially easing sanctions against the regime is dangerous, as it directly strengthens Russia: Belarus’ economy works for Russia’s war machine, Belarus is used as a route to circumvent sanctions, and its enterprises are involved in weapon production.
We know where the weapons are going. Does the Minister anticipate that the current level of EU sanctions will be maintained, or, indeed, possibly strengthened?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05