The Belarusian President has promised he will never tolerate ‘the Kremlin’s pressure’: according to him, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance banned imports of 14 tons of Belarusian meat for political reasons.
“I am not just surprised but saddened by the behavior of the Russian authorities these days. If trade between the two countries does not go back to normal soon, we will be forced to respond,” state-owned news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenka.
As Russia is eager to show off or to teach somebody a lesson, it has turned to a food issue, Aliaksandr Lukashenka believes. “But we are not puppies to be taken by the scruff of our necks,” he stressed.
“We have never carted Russia off, and we are not going to do it in this situation. This is our Russia, and we will be defending it as if it were our territory,” Lukashenka promised.
“Don’t put pressure on us. We are and we will be your reliable friends. But if you start squeezing us, you know that I won’t tolerate it,” he warned.
“We have not acted to address these issues for three months but now I see that the issues are not being dealt with. We are Russian people and we should come to terms,” he said.
On Wednesday Russia did not let 14 tons of Belarusian meat in. The officers of the Federal Service of veterinary and Phitosanitary Surveillance (Rosselhoznadzor) stopped vehicles carrying products of Kalinkavichy Meat Packing Factory on Homel-Bryansk highway.
