National Bank head weighs in on how Middle East conflict can impact Belarus

MINSK, 15 March (BelTA) - Belarus does not expect any serious upheavals in connection with the conflict in the Middle East, Chairman of the Board of the National Bank Roman Golovchenko told Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“I think that no serious upheavals await us. Moreover, what we have seen in recent days is that the situation is trending toward de-escalation. Everyone understands the consequences of tensions in this region for the global economy. I believe that common sense will prevail and we will witness a certain de-escalation,” said Roman Golovchenko.

At the same time, he noted that any geopolitical problem certainly impacts both financial and commodity markets. Evidence of this is the recent surge in resource prices.

“But given that these events do not directly affect us (and I emphasize, directly), we currently see no serious threats either to the Belarusian financial system or to the Belarusian economy. Moreover, over the past years we have repeatedly experienced acute situations, including those related to global tensions, and have learned to respond to them adequately,” the head of the National Bank said.