Poland may go for trade blockade on Belarus if situation on Belarusian-Polish border escalates
<p> MINSK, Dec 14 - PrimePress. Poland finds possible that a trade embargo may be imposed on Belarus if the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border escalates. </p> <p> </p> <p> Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made a statement to this effect at a press conference in Budapest following a meeting between the heads of government of the Visegrad Group countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) and French President Emmanuel Macron on 13 December. </p> <p> </p> <p> “We know for sure that Belarus is afraid of economic sanctions, afraid of a trade embargo. We have these tools in store,” the TASS news agency quoted Morawiecki as saying. </p> <p> </p> <p> In his words, there is currently no escalation on the Belarusian-Polish border. “But if it develops or if Minsk or Minsk and Moscow look for new mechanisms to destabilise this part of Europe, we will not hesitate to present to the European Commission and our partners new solutions aimed at a stronger response to such practices,” he said. </p> <p> </p> <p> On 30 Nov 2021, in an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, General Director at the Russian state news agency MIA Russia Today, Lukashenko confirmed his readiness to take tough retaliatory measures in response to Poland’s possible closure of the border. He noted that if Belarus closed its borders, the transit of goods from the European Union (EU) to Russia and China, including the transportation of energy resources, would stop. </p> <p> </p> <p> On 11 Nov 2021, Lukashenko threatened to cut off gas transit and block cargo traffic to Europe in response to another portion of sanctions that may be imposed by the European Union. He explained that the Yamal-Europe transnational gas export pipeline runs through Belarus, and the volume of gas transit from Russia to the West has recently increased significantly. </p> <p> </p> <p> Polish officials repeatedly stated that they were considering the option of completely closing traffic across the Belarusian-Polish border in response to disturbances by illegal migrants at the border. On 8 November, Poland completely closed road traffic through the Bruzgy-Kuznica Białostocka border crossing for an indefinite period due to repeated attempts by illegal migrants to break through the border barriers. </p> <p> </p> <p> On 2 December 2021, the EU, the US, the UK and Canada adopted new sanctions against Belarus. In particular, the U.S. expanded its Belarus sanctions list by including another 20 Belarusian individuals, 12 legal entities and two aircraft; the EU added 17 individuals and 11 legal entities, and the UK imposed sanctions on Belaruskali and eight individuals. End </p> <p> </p>
2021-12-15
Primepress
Poland may go for trade blockade on Belarus if situation on Belarusian-Polish border escalates
MINSK, Dec 14 - PrimePress. Poland finds possible that a trade embargo may be imposed on Belarus if the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border escalates.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made a statement to this effect at a press conference in Budapest following a meeting between the heads of government of the Visegrad Group countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) and French President Emmanuel Macron on 13 December.
“We know for sure that Belarus is afraid of economic sanctions, afraid of a trade embargo. We have these tools in store,” the TASS news agency quoted Morawiecki as saying.
In his words, there is currently no escalation on the Belarusian-Polish border. “But if it develops or if Minsk or Minsk and Moscow look for new mechanisms to destabilise this part of Europe, we will not hesitate to present to the European Commission and our partners new solutions aimed at a stronger response to such practices,” he said.
On 30 Nov 2021, in an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, General Director at the Russian state news agency MIA Russia Today, Lukashenko confirmed his readiness to take tough retaliatory measures in response to Poland’s possible closure of the border. He noted that if Belarus closed its borders, the transit of goods from the European Union (EU) to Russia and China, including the transportation of energy resources, would stop.
On 11 Nov 2021, Lukashenko threatened to cut off gas transit and block cargo traffic to Europe in response to another portion of sanctions that may be imposed by the European Union. He explained that the Yamal-Europe transnational gas export pipeline runs through Belarus, and the volume of gas transit from Russia to the West has recently increased significantly.
Polish officials repeatedly stated that they were considering the option of completely closing traffic across the Belarusian-Polish border in response to disturbances by illegal migrants at the border. On 8 November, Poland completely closed road traffic through the Bruzgy-Kuznica Białostocka border crossing for an indefinite period due to repeated attempts by illegal migrants to break through the border barriers.
On 2 December 2021, the EU, the US, the UK and Canada adopted new sanctions against Belarus. In particular, the U.S. expanded its Belarus sanctions list by including another 20 Belarusian individuals, 12 legal entities and two aircraft; the EU added 17 individuals and 11 legal entities, and the UK imposed sanctions on Belaruskali and eight individuals. End