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G. Nausėda told reporters that both in the European Union and in Lithuania it had been agreed before that economic sanctions would not apply to Belarus due to the regime’s crackdown on protesters, because they would harm ordinary people in the first place.
“However, if Lukashenko believes that the economic sanctions should be tailored to himself, to Belarus, he can,” the Lithuanian president said during a press conference in the Presidency.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Klaipeda port
According to him, the relocation of goods will damage the Belarusian economy and make goods exported abroad more expensive.
“The use and implementation of alternatives will allow us to face a new type of product in the international market. That product will be called the golden fertilizer of Belarus, “said G. Nausėda.
Lukashenko spoke about the sanctions against Lithuania last Friday. It tasked the Government with submitting a proposal on the redirection of cargo from Klaipeda to other ports.
“Scanpix” / AP nuotr./Aliaksandras Lukašenka
Belarusian fertilizers transshipped at the port of Klaipeda account for about a third of all bulk cargo and are a major source of revenue for the port.
All cargo from Belarus to Klaipeda is transported on trains of the state-owned Lithuanian Railways. According to the company, it annually transports between 18 and 19 tons of Belarusian cargo. In total, the Lithuanian Railways transport around 50 tons of cargo per year.
Lukashenko has also repeatedly threatened to redirect cargo and choose other ports, but this did not reduce cargo, probably due to the fact that it is more economically advantageous for Belarusian companies to transport products through Lithuania.
Protests over the presidential elections have continued in Belarus since the beginning of August. Loyal to the regime, the electoral commission says Lukashenko has won them overwhelmingly, but the opposition says the results are rigged.
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