MINSK, August 28. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pledged that the sanctions imposed by certain countries will be met with a tough response, Belarusian BelTA news agency reports.
"They got too self-indulgent and forgot what Belarus is. They thought they could bend us over and scare us with tanks and missiles. We will see who will scare who. We will show them what sanctions are," he said.
Lukashenko expressed confidence that the country will survive sanctions, recalling that Belarus had already gone through such a period. "We survived. And will survive now. The world has kind people in it. Therefore, they shouldn’t threaten us," the leader added.
Earlier on Friday, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek informed that the top diplomats of the European Union agreed the list of Belarusian officials who will have EU sanctions slapped on them. The document is expected to be approved at an upcoming official event of the EU. The sanction list can be expended if the situation in Belarus deteriorates further.
In turn, the Lithuanian foreign ministry placed 118 officials on its list, including Lukashenko. Vilnius claims that all these people were responsible for falsifying the recent presidential elections and unjustified use of force against protesters at rallies that ensued.
Belarus held the presidential election on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secured his reelection with 80.10% of the votes, while his key rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya came second with 10.12% She rejected the results and later fled to neighboring Lithuania. Amid this background, the country plunged into mass protests, as people challenged the official results. In the first few days, demonstrations were coupled with clashes with the police. The recently created Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition is urging people to keep protesting. Meanwhile, authorities say that unlawful rallies need to stop.