Russia’s govt to work out measures to help Belarus withstand Western sanctions – Peskov

MINSK, Jul 15 - PrimePress. The Russian government has been instructed to work out measures to help Belarus withstand Western sanctions, Russian President’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 15, 2021.<br> <br> “Following the meeting between Russian and Belarusian presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, the government was instructed to work out measures to support Minsk amid the stifling Western sanctions,” Peskov said.<br> <br> Belarusian President’s Press Secretary Natalia Eismont also stated that the two governments were instructed to map out a joint plan to respond to the sanctions.<br> <br> As previously reported, at the meeting held on July 13, 2021 in St. Petersburg, Putin and Lukashenko reached an agreement on the price of Russian natural gas for Belarus in 2022, which remain at the level of 2021. They also agreed on credit support for Belarus in connection with the tax maneuver in the Russian oil industry, and worked out measures for cooperation in the customs, tax and energy sectors.<br> <br> As previously reported, on June 25, 2021, the EU Council introduced sanctions against largest sectors of Belarus’ economy. The sanctions prohibit direct or indirect sale, supply, transfer or export to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Belarus or for use in Belarus of goods used for the production or manufacturing of tobacco products; the purchase, import or transfer from Belarus of petroleum products, potassium chloride products. The EU Council prohibited EU entities and individuals from purchasing, selling, and provide investment services for or assistance in the issuance of, or otherwise deal with transferable securities and money-market instruments with a maturity exceeding 90 days, issued after 29 June 2021. The government of Belarus, public bodies, corporations or agencies, or entities acting at their direction, are prohibited from acquiring insurance or reinsurance services from the EU. Any payments or disbursements by the European Investment Bank in connection with any existing agreements with the Republic of Belarus or its public authorities shall be prohibited. The EU member states will take the necessary measures to limit the involvement of multilateral development banks in Belarus. The prohibitions shall be without prejudice to the execution of contracts concluded before 25 June 2021 or ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts.<br> <br> After the August 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, a political crisis began in the country. The authorities responded to the protests of citizens who disagreed with the election results with harsh repression and persecution.  Since October 2020, the EU has already introduced three packages of (mostly targeted) sanctions against the Belarusian authorities.<br> <br> According to the Finance Ministry of Belarus, in 2021, an equivalent of $3.1 billion will be allocated to repay and service the external public debt, of which $3 billion in foreign currencies. The repayment of the principal debt will reach $1.9 billion; the interest payment servicing – $1.1 billion. Belarus’ external public debt calculated by the methodology of the Special Data Dissemination Standard of the International Monetary Fund amounted to $19.808 billion as of June 1, 2021. End<br> <br>

2021-07-15

Primepress