The European Parliament has accused Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of being complicit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in committing war crimes in Ukraine.
In a resolution adopted by lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday, the International Criminal Court is being urged to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Lukashenko, it claims, has enabled “Russia’s unjustified war of aggression” and therefore carries direct responsibility” for the destruction and damage caused to Ukraine.
In a separate charge, it also accuses Belarus of playing a role in the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children from territories temporarily occupied by Russian troops.
It names Russia’s Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova already wanted by the ICC for the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
This resolution branded Belarus a “satellite state of Russia,” and consequently, calls for the application of “mirror” sanctions against Belarus, similar to those applied by the EU against Russia.
It stated that Minsk and Moscow should be added to the European Union’s list of countries which are at “high risk” of financial irregularities and sponsoring terrorism, adding that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned from competing in international competitions.
