MOSCOW - The Belarusian authorities intend to apply foreign travel bans to a broader circle of individuals, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced in an interview with Russia Today TV channel.
Asked whether a list of such individuals has been made, he said: "Yes, we have. But we have not enforced it yet. Not on a full scale. But we will."
He accused the opposition of instigating the West to impose sanctions against Belarusian officials, businessmen and companies.
"It is they who supply the West with names of people, organizations and companies and insist on economic sanctions. They," he stressed.
Asked to comment on the travel ban imposed on former parliament speaker Stanislav Shushkevich, he said: "As for being allowed to leave or not, by now the European Union has approved a list of persona non grata which includes myself and so on. The list was approved with at the hint of our fifth column and Stanislav Shushkevich is one of its leaders."
Lukashenko said that he has always held a peaceful attitude to his predecessors as the head of state but criticized the policy pursued by Shushkevich.
Last Sunday, Shushkevich was not allowed to travel to Lithuania.
In 1990-1993, Shushkevich was the speaker of the Belarusian parliament and according to the then constitution – the head of state. In 1991, as the leader of Belarus he signed the agreements that resulted in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
