Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, threatened on Tuesday to stop the transit of European Union goods through his country to Russia and China in response to sanctions imposed by the 27-nation bloc. The EU imposed extensive economic sanctions on Belarus last month, targeting its key export industries and access to financing, after Minsk forced a Ryanair passenger plane to land and arrested an opposition activist.
Lukashenko told a government meeting, "First: no step inside the Belarusian market, second: no step through Belarus either," according to Reuters. He added, "The same must be done with the Germans. Let them supply their products to China and Russia via Finland, or through Ukraine." Lukashenko did not specify a timeline for halting the transit of goods or which countries, other than Germany, might be affected.
