Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to respond personally to the unrest provoked by Belarusian dictator Alexandre Lukashenko.
Last Thursday, at a meeting with his government, Lukashenka responded forcefully to the announcement of further sanctions that the European Union plans to impose on Belarus next week to escalate the migration crisis at the border with Poland.
Lukashenka threatened to suspend the transit of goods transported from Germany and Poland to Russia via Belarus. He noted that in Belarus there is a section of the Yamal gas pipeline through which gas flows from Russia to Poland and Germany.
– We are heating Europe and they are still threatening us with closing the borders? What if we stop the supply of natural gas there? Therefore, I would recommend Polish leadership, Lithuanians and others who are unaware to think before saying anything. But this is their business, and they will close it, and they will close it. But the Foreign Ministry must warn everyone in Europe: if they impose additional sanctions on us, indigestible and unacceptable to us, we will have to respond – Lukashenka threatened.
Putin: Lukashenka did not warn me
In an interview with Russian TV Vladimir Putin confirmedThat he was not warned in advance about Lukashenka’s threats.
– I heard about it first, to be honest. Because I’ve talked to Alexander Grigorives twice recently [Łukaszenką] “And he never told me that, not even in a sign,” Putin said. He also announced that he would talk to the Belarusian dictator about his words.
The Russian president decided that Lukashenka could fulfill his threats. – In theory, Lukashenka, as the head of a transit country, can, of course, order the suspension of our country [rosyjskich] supply [gazu] to Europe. “Although this would be a violation of our transit contract, I hope that will not happen,” Putin said.
Putin warns Lukashenka
The Russian president did not mention that the Belarusian section of the Yamal pipeline always belongs to Gazprom, and that Gazprom has taken over the entire Belarusian pipeline system in the past decade. But at the same time, Putin publicly warned Lukashenka in a television interview.
– to me [zablokowanie gazociągu jamalskiego] This will cause great harm to the energy sector in Europe and the European energy sector and will not lead to the development of our relations with Belarus as a transit country, Putin said.
The EU does not take Lukashenka’s threats seriously
Earlier, Peter Stano, spokesman for the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called for distance to address Lukashenka’s threats. – If the gas is stopped, it will harm the Belarusian society, harm the image of Belarus, and harm the gas supplier [Rosji]who doesn’t want it [Łukaszenka] do, stano appraisal.
He considered that accepting Lukashenka’s threats literally only contributed to the dissemination of the false narrative of the Belarusian dictator. – The spokesman for the head of EU diplomacy added that it is not worth taking Lukashenka’s statements seriously and speculating about what may or may not happen, because this only strengthens his propaganda.
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