MINSK, March 15. /TASS/. The economy of Belarus and its population will not suffer from the ban on the import of a number of goods from Lithuania into the country, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko said.

"I am sure that the ban will not affect our economy or the consumer market in any way. Those who cannot do without Lithuanian chocolate will not suffer. This document does not apply to individuals and goods for personal use," the Belarusian Prime Minister noted. A video with his statements was published on the Telegram channel of the government press service.

Golovchenko referred to two rulings the Belarusian government adopted as a response to Lithuania after that country closed two checkpoints on the border with Belarus.

"The first of them concerns products from Lithuania, these are mainly food products. We imported a small amount of them per year - for about $5-6 million," the prime minister said.

The second ruling concerns the import of goods, including from third countries, across the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, he explained.

"In total, they (goods - TASS) were imported into Belarus last year in the amount of about $150 million in a volume of about 60,000 tons," Golovchenko said.

"But this does not mean that these cargoes will not reach us. They will simply go along a different logistics route - through Latvia, Poland. The ban applies to their import only through the Belarusian-Lithuanian section of the border," Golovchenko said.

Noting that "the decision on response measures is absolutely verified and calculated," the Belarusian prime minister stressed that "neither people nor the market" will feel a negative effect from the decisions made in Minsk.

Decision of Belarusian authorities

On March 14, the Council of Ministers of Belarus banned the import of certain goods across the Belarusian-Lithuanian section of the state border. The goods banned for import for sale and consumption on the territory of Belarus include: water, beer, wine, grape must, vermouth, other fermented drinks, ethyl alcohol, vinegar, pneumatic rubber tires and tires, clothing and other used products as well as used parts and accessories of vehicles.

By decision of the Council of Ministers, amendments were made to the government resolution of December 6, 2021, which supplemented the list of goods prohibited for import and sale on the territory of Belarus. As the government noted, the specified list includes certain goods originating from Lithuania: condensed milk and cream, fruits and nuts, coffee, fruit juices, water, vinegar, stockings, socks, selected building products, refrigerators and freezers.

Since March 1, Lithuania has closed road crossings in Lavorishkes (on the Belarusian side - Kotlovka) and Raigardas (Privalka). Prior to this, in the summer of 2023, Lithuania closed such points in Tveryacius (Vidzy) and Sumskas (Losha). At the two remaining checkpoints in the settlements of Medininkai (Kamenny Log) and Shalchininkai (Benyakoni), a ban on the passage of cyclists and pedestrians has been introduced.