WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st October, 2020) The US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday approved a draft bill for further deliberations on the political crisis in Belarus that refuses to recognize any integration or unification of that country with Russia and calls for sanctioning Russian individuals for a crackdown on opposition protests.
The Foreign Affairs Committee's markup allows the bill to move to the US House floor for a possible full vote. The measure will require confirmation in the Senate and a signature by President Donald Trump to become a law.
"This Act sends an unmistakable message to the Belarusian dictator and his supporters in the Kremlin that the United States will neither accept [Alexander] Lukashenko's illegitimate rule nor allow Belarus' sovereignty to be handed over to Russia against the will of the Belarusian people," Congressman and ranking Republican on the Committee Michael McCaul said.
The bill proclaims the rejection of the August 9 Belarusian presidential election to be a US policy as well as refusing to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimately elected president and calling for a new presidential election that complies with international standards.
The measure also targets integration efforts between Russia and Belarus, stating that the United States refuses to recognize "any incorporation of Belarus into a so-called 'Union State' that is under the control of Russia.
In addition, the bill calls for "further strengthening the current human rights sanctions regime on Belarus" by including "Russian individuals complicit in the political repression in Belarus and the crackdown on independent media."
The bill requires the US Secretary of State, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, to submit two reports to Congress on "Russia's efforts to undermine Belarus' sovereignty and independence and the assets owned by Lukashenko."
Other provisions include calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus, increased assistance to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law, expanded media broadcasts in the country as well as continued coordination with the European Union and other US allies.
Lukashenko won his sixth term in office by securing 80.1 percent of the vote in the August 9 election. Belarus's opposition refuses to recognize the results and has since been staging protests throughout the country.
