EU may sanction Belarus’s potash industry by this summer

Bloomberg: The European Union is aiming to hit Belarus with a new round of sanctions by June over the forced landing of Ryanair flight FR4978 and the arrest of a journalist, with tougher economic measures to follow by the summer, according to an EU official familiar with the matter.

The more stringent measures could target potash, a soil nutrient used to improve crops, the official said, asking not to be named discussing private conversations. Potash is the country’s major export item and its only abundant mineral resource. The EU has already sanctioned seven Belarusian entities and 88 individuals, including discredited president, Alexander Lukashenko, and was already working on adding more people to that list over their support for the regime and the repressions of protests. Following agreement between EU leaders on Monday to sanction Belarus further, that list is now expected to expand to include people involved in the Ryanair incident and should be adopted by the bloc’s foreign ministers on June 21.