April 15, Pozirk. Fertilizers “wasted on farms” could have been sold abroad for significant profit, Alaksandar Łukašenka told officials yesterday during a visit to the Mahiloŭ region, voicing apparent frustration over sanctions affecting fertilizer transit through Lithuania.
Belarus also could have gained a political advantage on its neighbor: “could have got the better of these Labuses and other jerks,” he said, using a slightly derogatory term “Labusy” or “Labasy” ‒ derived from the Lithuanian word “labas” (good) frequently used in greetings – to refer to Lithuanians.
The Belarusian ruler also expressed anger that his directives were not being followed. “The country is a dictatorship, orders are given, yet my subordinates are failing to implement them,” he said, threatening Juryj Šulejka, the deputy prime minister in charge of agriculture, and Juryj Horłaŭ, agriculture minister.
The politician warned that Vasil Hierasimaŭ, head of the State Control Committee, “will round up people across the country and bring them to the detention center for [Interior Minister Ivan] Kubrakoŭ,” adding that authorities would then “sort things out.” “Next in line will be the chairmen of the district executive committees. When I appoint them, I tell them: be presidents in your own territories. What’s stopping you from governing?”
In late March, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Vilnius would not engage with Minsk unless it shows consistent “neighborly goodwill.”
Belarus has been pushing for consultations between the two countries’ foreign ministries, while Lithuania rejected direct diplomatic talks, having significantly downgraded official contacts after what it described as Belarus’ rigged 2020 presidential election.
Tensions between both countries are fuelled by cigarette smuggling disrupting operations at Lithuanian airports, irregular migration, sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilizers, Belarus’ nuclear power plant and Minsk’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
