MINSK, 31 January (BelTA) – If Lithuania disallows the transit of Belarusian cargo through its territory, the Belarusian government should implement a number of retaliatory measures against Lithuania, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko and the chiefs of Belaruskali and the Belarusian Potash Company on 31 January, BelTA has learned.
“If, for example, Lithuania does not want to let our cargo into the port and transship it in the port, well, it is up to them. Yet, if this happens, we should take retributory action against Lithuania literally within a few days as we agreed on. I just want the Lithuanians to know. They started blaming me indiscriminately. I want to emphasize once again: we do not initiate any processes that would lead to bad blood with Lithuania, Latvia, Poland or Ukraine. We don't need it,” the president said.
“Moreover, I said on Friday that I don't care much about saving face ... If they need to save face, they should come forward and negotiate. We are ready for negotiations. If they continue to put pressure on us, then we will start materializing the plan that we have. I have warned them. The people of Lithuania, Poland and other states should understand that we are simply responding to these challenges,” the head of state emphasized.
