US President Donald Trump is extending sanctions against the Belarusian authorities for another year. The relevant document is available in the Federal Register database. It will be officially published on May 26.
According to the document, the state of emergency with respect to Belarus will remain in effect beyond June 16, 2026. The sanctions are being extended for an additional year.
“The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons, and the Belarusian regime’s harmful activities and long-standing abuses, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the document states.
The measure refers to the national emergency declared by executive order on June 16, 2006. It was introduced following the 2006 presidential election due to the policies and actions of “certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons to undermine Belarus’s democratic processes or institutions, manifested in the fundamentally undemocratic March 2006 elections; to commit human rights abuses related to political repression, including detentions and disappearances; and to engage in public corruption, including by diverting or misusing Belarusian public assets or by misusing public authority.”
Later, during the warming of relations between the United States and Belarus, this sanctions regime was suspended several times.
However, following the 2020 election, it was reinstated. On August 9, 2021, US President Joe Biden expanded the scope of the executive order by adding new criteria, including the elimination of political opposition and civil society organizations, as well as disruption of and threats by the regime to international civil aviation.
