US Preparing Follow-Up Sanctions on Belarus After EU Restrictions - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is preparing follow-up sanctions after recent EU restrictions to hold Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accountable for the migrant crisis, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that the EU foreign ministers agreed to expand the score of sanctions against Belarus and the document will be finalized in the coming days.

"I understand that the EU has announced a new sanctions authority that could apply to the situation in Belarus. We, too, are preparing follow up sanctions in close coordination with EU and other partners that will continue to hold the Lukashenko regime accountable," Price told reporters.

The spokesperson went on to underscore that the measures would be implemented as part of a larger effort to hold the government "accountable for its ongoing attacks on democracy, on human rights, on international norms."

"We call on the regime to immediately halt its campaign of orchestrating and coercing irregular migrant flows," he added.

However, Price also took the opportunity to remark that the US would move forward with the sanctions so long as the Lukashenko regime doesn't change its behavior. "We will continue to put more pressure," he said.

Tensions along the Belarusian-Polish border began to escalate in early November as large numbers of migrants began to appear on Belarus' land borders with Poland, a member of the European Union since 2004. Although Poland has claimed Belarus orchestrated the crisis, Belarus has largely blamed the Western military for the migrant flow.