LEPEL DISTRICT, 31 October (BelTA) - Lithuanians themselves were smuggling cigarettes from Belarusian territory using weather balloons, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in response to a question from journalists on 31 October, BelTA has learned.
The head of state said Lithuanians themselves resorted to the cigarette trade due to border closures by neighboring countries. Aleksandr Lukashenko asserted that their own authorities pushed them into it by disrupting normal commerce and building a border fence.
“They put up a fence. People had gotten used to a different life – they had some kind of business going, they were involved in production. They could produce something and sell it to us, we could produce something and sell it to them. Trade was flowing. They put up this fence, and it severed, it cut these living connections. Millions of people were suddenly deprived of this work, the very thing they lived on, especially the Poles. Theirs is private production, so they are even more dependent on this trade than we are,” the Belarusian leader said. “The Lithuanian and Polish authorities are to blame for this happening. Why did you put people in such conditions? Why did you push them onto the path of crime?” the Belarusian leader remarked.
He stated that Belarusian citizens would buy cigarettes legally from the factory and sell them to Lithuanians who came into Belarus, pocketing a profit. The Lithuanians, in turn, moved the merchandise to their partners across the border using balloons, capitalizing on the price difference between Belarus and the EU.
“These people, whose lives and livelihoods were brutally cut off by the border line (they still have children to feed, they need to do something) saw that they could get goods cheaply here and resell them over there, to earn a huge amount of money,” Aleksandr Lukashenko explained.
“They set up this business. Our people get cigarettes from the factory at a good price and sell them to the Lithuanians to make some money for themselves, a bit of profit. They had to get them across the fence. They would toss small batches over using these balloons. The Lithuanians would receive them on the other side,” the president said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that the Lithuanian border guards must have seen this, and they did, but they were also getting a profit.
“Did our side see it? They almost certainly did. But so what? You imposed sanctions against us, you are strangling us, and so on. As I often say, are we supposed to protect you? So, fine, let those balloons fly. But we will look into that, too. The main thing is that the Lithuanians were receiving these balloons and taking the cigarettes. They weren't selling them in Lithuania, but in the Netherlands and England. They say cigarettes are most expensive there,” the head of state added.
“How can I hold them [the Belarusian participants in this scheme] accountable? What is Belarus' guilt in this? I don't see any reason to punish these people. They wanted to earn money, and they did. It would be different if they had stolen these cigarettes... But no, they paid for them,” the head of state said.“What are your complaints against us? That we sold cigarettes to the Lithuanians? We did. It's legal.”
Moreover, it's profitable for the factory, which sells its products, and for the state, which receives excise taxes from the cigarette sales into the budget.
Moreover, it's profitable for the factory, which sells its products, and for the state, which receives excise taxes from the cigarette sales into the budget.
The head of state noted that he had asked people in the know for details about exactly how many cigarettes are being transported using these balloons. He was informed that one box contains 500 cartons of cigarettes, and a single balloon can carry no more than two boxes, meaning a thousand cartons. “These are, as they say, poor souls who have nowhere to work now and can't travel back and forth. This is what they do,” he explained.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also shared details on how the people from Lithuania who were involved in the smuggling ended up in Belarus: “In this case, from Lithuania (we have identified these two individuals), they invite people over. We have a visa-free regime. But they didn't use that. They used a ‘green corridor’. They made a deal with the Lithuanian border guards, they opened a gate, and they came over to us.”
The president also clarified that the Lithuanians came to Belarus because the participants of this scheme on Belarus’ side refused to launch these balloons: “They said: ‘No, Batka [the president] will put us in jail, we won't do it!’ They had bought these balloons online. And since our guys refused, these Lithuanians themselves started using the balloons to send the cigarettes over to Lithuania. And in Lithuania, they were received by the guys whom they [the authorities] had deprived of their livelihood.”
“Actually, I want to clarify just how many of these balloons were flying. They say 200. Our so-called ‘bandits’ are saying: ‘Tell the president, there were no 200. It was about two dozen of these balloons. We don't even have that many’. As for the Lithuanians shipping to themselves, well, you go and find those Lithuanians, identify them, and take it up with them. They understand this, and apparently, just this morning, they reported to me that the Lithuanians found something over there. We will find our people and ask them why they did it. But I don't know how to hold them accountable. They bought and they sold,” the Belarusian leader added.
Despite all that has been laid out, the head of state stressed that for him, the crucial fact is that the launched drones paralyzed the airport's operations. “The balloons were climbing up to five kilometers, they say. And if a civilian plane had been there, people would have died. For me, that is unacceptable and it's what's important,” he emphasized.
Moreover, Aleksandr Lukashenko shared another layer to the issue: “The Lithuanians understand perfectly well that all of this would come to light, that it would all become known. Let me reveal a secret: we are negotiating with the Americans. The talks are going in different ways, it's difficult. Well, literally the day after the night these balloons were flying, the Americans sent us a message saying the Belarusians are to blame for what happened, and the authorities and Lukashenko must immediately apologize to Lithuania, and do so publicly for this. I said: ‘No way’. I already said we would apologize, but only if we are at fault. What should I apologize for? But the Americans are demanding an apology from us, and so are the Lithuanians. Who is managing whom? They complained to the Americans, who are negotiating with us. The Americans send me a letter telling me to apologize. And then the Lithuanians also demand it from us. The Americans gave them the order: ‘Demand an apology, make Lukashenko apologize.’”
The president also clarified that the Lithuanians came to Belarus because the participants of this scheme on Belarus’ side refused to launch these balloons: “They said: ‘No, Batka [the president] will put us in jail, we won't do it!’ They had bought these balloons online. And since our guys refused, these Lithuanians themselves started using the balloons to send the cigarettes over to Lithuania. And in Lithuania, they were received by the guys whom they [the authorities] had deprived of their livelihood.”
“Actually, I want to clarify just how many of these balloons were flying. They say 200. Our so-called ‘bandits’ are saying: ‘Tell the president, there were no 200. It was about two dozen of these balloons. We don't even have that many’. As for the Lithuanians shipping to themselves, well, you go and find those Lithuanians, identify them, and take it up with them. They understand this, and apparently, just this morning, they reported to me that the Lithuanians found something over there. We will find our people and ask them why they did it. But I don't know how to hold them accountable. They bought and they sold,” the Belarusian leader added.
Despite all that has been laid out, the head of state stressed that for him, the crucial fact is that the launched drones paralyzed the airport's operations. “The balloons were climbing up to five kilometers, they say. And if a civilian plane had been there, people would have died. For me, that is unacceptable and it's what's important,” he emphasized.
Moreover, Aleksandr Lukashenko shared another layer to the issue: “The Lithuanians understand perfectly well that all of this would come to light, that it would all become known. Let me reveal a secret: we are negotiating with the Americans. The talks are going in different ways, it's difficult. Well, literally the day after the night these balloons were flying, the Americans sent us a message saying the Belarusians are to blame for what happened, and the authorities and Lukashenko must immediately apologize to Lithuania, and do so publicly for this. I said: ‘No way’. I already said we would apologize, but only if we are at fault. What should I apologize for? But the Americans are demanding an apology from us, and so are the Lithuanians. Who is managing whom? They complained to the Americans, who are negotiating with us. The Americans send me a letter telling me to apologize. And then the Lithuanians also demand it from us. The Americans gave them the order: ‘Demand an apology, make Lukashenko apologize.’”
“If I am at fault in some way, based on that, I am ready to apologize. But I do not see my guilt, I do not see the guilt of our people. And then, let's be frank, if we needed to send cigarettes to Poland, we'd just send a whole freight car there. And they would accept it. Why? Because there is a demand for it. It's economy. You can't get away from it. If a product is five or ten times more expensive there than here, they will dig a tunnel underground and ship it through. And those who see it will keep quiet if they [the border guards] are paid off. They got paid, they stay silent. These are cigarettes, not nuclear weapons,” the president said.
Speaking about the whole situation, the head of state noted: "The issue is that they need to find something to pressure us with."
In this context, Aleksandr Lukashenko gave an example of when sanctions were imposed against Belavia. The reason given was the detention of the opposition figure Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend at the time. “I will not talk about it for a long time. Protasevich is an officer of our intelligence service. Did we need to detain him? But I wonder why the aircraft flying to Vilnius didn’t land there. It turned around, flew to Minsk, and landed after a phone call about some explosives planted on board… Well, feel free to land in Vilnius. You had been flying to Vilnius. You had been above Vilnius. Land! The aircraft turned around and flew to Minsk. It landed in Minsk. I authorized the operation. After all, he had been working undercover among the self-exiled opposition. Carry out the operation properly,” the president stated.
“We had to carry out an operation in order to detain him. Although we didn’t have to detain him. He had come to Greece. He had been summoned to Greece. He had told intelligence officers everything we were interested in. He got an assignment and was flying back. Back where he had been working, via Vilnius. We got accused of detaining an opposition member. But he is not our opposition member. We didn’t detain an opposition member. This is why they have enforced sanctions,” the head of state said.
“The exact same thing applies here. We're supposed to apologize to the Lithuanians. For what? You can't manipulate us. And in connection with this, I see the situation is being escalated. They want to finish crushing us, along with the Russians. They want to finish us off: Putin, Lukashenko - we're just aggressors. This cannot be done. They won't be able to handle us. Do they really want a repeat of the middle of the last century? They will not be able to handle us. We will defend our land together with the Russians to the last person. But we are not the ones encroaching on others,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
Speaking about the whole situation, the head of state noted: "The issue is that they need to find something to pressure us with."
In this context, Aleksandr Lukashenko gave an example of when sanctions were imposed against Belavia. The reason given was the detention of the opposition figure Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend at the time. “I will not talk about it for a long time. Protasevich is an officer of our intelligence service. Did we need to detain him? But I wonder why the aircraft flying to Vilnius didn’t land there. It turned around, flew to Minsk, and landed after a phone call about some explosives planted on board… Well, feel free to land in Vilnius. You had been flying to Vilnius. You had been above Vilnius. Land! The aircraft turned around and flew to Minsk. It landed in Minsk. I authorized the operation. After all, he had been working undercover among the self-exiled opposition. Carry out the operation properly,” the president stated.
“We had to carry out an operation in order to detain him. Although we didn’t have to detain him. He had come to Greece. He had been summoned to Greece. He had told intelligence officers everything we were interested in. He got an assignment and was flying back. Back where he had been working, via Vilnius. We got accused of detaining an opposition member. But he is not our opposition member. We didn’t detain an opposition member. This is why they have enforced sanctions,” the head of state said.
“The exact same thing applies here. We're supposed to apologize to the Lithuanians. For what? You can't manipulate us. And in connection with this, I see the situation is being escalated. They want to finish crushing us, along with the Russians. They want to finish us off: Putin, Lukashenko - we're just aggressors. This cannot be done. They won't be able to handle us. Do they really want a repeat of the middle of the last century? They will not be able to handle us. We will defend our land together with the Russians to the last person. But we are not the ones encroaching on others,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
Follow us on:
