Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, EU – Baltic States, EU – CIS, Legislation

The bloc is drawing up a list of individuals to hit with asset freezes and travel bans for either rigging the August 9 poll which saw Lukashenko re-elected or for the violent crackdown on huge opposition protests the contested result triggered.

Officials say the list is likely to include around 20 people, though some countries including Belarus's neighbour Lithuania are pushing for more.

Legal checks mean the final list will not be formally approved and published for some time, but EU foreign ministers meeting in Berlin to give it their political blessing were divided on whether it would be helpful to include Lukashenko himself.

"I think he has to be on the list," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told reporters in Berlin, saying the EU needed to "speed up our actions".

"What is happening is unprecedented. It is untolerable."

His Czech counterpart Tomas Petricek agreed Lukashenko should be targeted, but said such a move could be held in reserve and used later "if we see that there is not positive development in Belarus."

Petricek said the ministers asked EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell to have the list -- which needs unanimous approval by all 27 EU states -- ready by the time of their next meeting, on September 24.

But Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn cautioned against sanctioning Lukashenko, who has ruled his country for 26 years and is often dubbed "Europe's last dictator", saying it could hamper efforts to broker talks through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

"We must remember that besides the European Union, there is also the OSCE. Of course they also want to keep the possibility of somehow establishing a dialogue in this country," he said.

Lukashenko has dismissed calls to resign or hold new elections, instead accusing Western countries of stirring political unrest, and on Thursday his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, promised to give him military support if he needed it.