Editor's note : this image is distributed by Russian state owned agency Sputnik
(FILES) In this pool photograph distributed on July 26, 2024, by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle as he visits Valaam Monastery with the Russian President, in nothern Russia on July 25, 2024. The United States, Britain and Canada unveiled sweeping sanctions against Belarus on August 9, 2024 to mark the fourth anniversary of a contested presidential election that returned strongman President Alexander Lukashenko to power. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)