WASHINGTON, May 22. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has extended US sanctions against members of the Belarusian leadership for another year, says a decree published in the Federal Register, a collection of official US government documents.
The sanctions were imposed in 2006 and expanded on August 9, 2021. They were set to expire on June 16.
"The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons <…> continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," the decree states.
"Therefore, <…>, I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13405," the decree states.
The decree in question was signed in June 2006 by then-43rd US President George W. Bush, imposing restrictions on individuals Washington deemed as "undermining democratic processes and institutions" in Belarus. In August 2021, then-46th President Joe Biden expanded the sanctions criteria with another decree. Annual renewals of such sanctions regimes are provided for by US law.