EU leaders seek end to embarrassing Belarus sanctions clash

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are gathering Thursday to try to end an embarrassing standoff that is preventing them from imposing sanctions on senior officials in Belarus accused of falsifying election results and leading the crackdown on peaceful protesters.

The roadblock borders on the absurd. All 27 EU member countries reject the result of the Aug. 9 vote that allowed President Alexander Lukashenko to stay in office. They want a new election and agree that sanctions should be slapped on dozens of officials, perhaps even the man once dubbed Europe’s last dictator himself.

But Cyprus, one of the EU’s smallest member countries, is vetoing the move. It is demanding that its partners in the world’s biggest trading bloc also take action against Turkey for its energy exploration work in disputed waters off the island nation’s coast.

After European foreign ministers failed to break the deadlock last month, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, warned that the bloc’s ability to forge a common foreign policy among 27 countries on issues of concern in wider Europe or around the Mediterranean is on the line.

“If we are not able to do that, then I understand perfectly that our credibility is at stake,” he said.

Before the summit, diplomats said an accommodation might be found. Over dinner, the leaders will have wide-ranging talks about the EU’s troubled ties with Turkey over its drilling in the Mediterranean, its roles in the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and as a source of migrants trying to reach Europe.

Cyprus could be appeased if its partners underline their support in the final summit communique, or in a special statement from European Council President Charles Michel, who is chairing the two-day meeting. The leaders could then give a green light to sanctions against dozens of Belarus...