MINSK, July 4. /TASS/. Belarus’ government has a clear plan of how to work amid Western sanctions, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said on Sunday.
"We are trying to assess the impacts of the sectoral sanctions that have been imposed more clearly. I wouldn’t say we are careless about them or ignore this phenomenon. But we in the Belarusian government have a velar plan of work in these conditions," he said in an interview with the Belarus-1 television channel.
He said he did not want to focus on possible losses for the Belarusian economy from the sanctions. "We know that most of forecasts about Belarus never come true. And this is good. I am convinced that these forecasts will fail as well," he said, adding that tougher conditions caused by the sanctions would prompt Belarus "to move even faster, to reach new markets more actively."
"We know where to move to and it is a stimulating and motivating factor for us," he stressed.
Touching on prospect for Belarus’ cooperation with European financial structures, Golovchenko noted that "there was and there is a serious package of projects, which have already been approved by European financial institutes, with all necessary decisions taken."
"Probably, the European Union will pass some explanatory acts but, as far as I understand, these sanctions do not apply to the existing agreements," he said. "Even if they put on hold or reject these projects due to some reasons, we know how to substitute these resources - with or own or borrowed funds."
Anti-Belarusian sanctions
A number of European countries and the United States do not recognize the results of the August 2020 presidential elections in Belarus and slam that country’s law enforcers for excessively tough measures against protesters. On this backdrop, the West keeps on imposing sanctions and other restrictions against Belarus. A new package of the European Union’s sectoral sanctions came into effect from June 25. This is the first time in history when economic restrictions were imposed against Belarus. Thus, the European Union banned import of potassium chloride used mostly to manufacture fertilizers and petrochemical products, expect gasoline and diesel fuel from Belarus. It is also banned to export to Belarus ingredients for the tobacco industry, technologies and software for internet control, double use vehicle that can be used by the army or police. European investors have been banned to lend money to Belarusian state structures, companies and banks with the state participation of more than 50% for a term of more than three months.
Previously, the European Union imposed four packages of individual sanctions targeting 166 Belarusian individuals and 15 legal entities, including such industrial giants as MAZ and BelAZ. The blacklisted persons are banned from entering the European Union and denied access to European financial markets. European businesses cannot maintain any economic ties with Belarusian legal entities.
Apart from that, EU countries refused from flights over Belarus’ territory and banned Belarusian air carriers from flying in the EU airspace.
Minsk slams these sanctions as short-sighted, detrimental and seeking to interfere into Belarus’ domestic affairs.