Senator Portman visiting Vilnius: US sectoral sanctions for Minsk would be more effective

"Sectoral sanctions would be likely more effective," he told a press conference on Tuesday.

Sectoral sanctions should be directed at causing pain for the Lukashenko regime.

"It tends to be products or industry sectors where we would see some impact," he said.

The senator was also accompanied by his democrat counterparts Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Murphy. The US politicians met with Lithuanian Foreign Gabrielius Landsbergis and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The visit comes more than a week after the Minsk regime forced a Ryanair passenger plane en route from Athens to Vilnius to divert to and land in Minsk to detain opposition blogger Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

Last Friday, the White House said the United States would impose sanctions for Belarus for its action. The United States said it is drafting a list of targeted sanctions for members of the Lukashenko regime in cooperation with the European Union.