If we fail to take measures, sanctions may cause a gap in the balance of payments, sharp rise in inflation, and decline in people’s incomes, Prime Minister Haloŭčanka says

March 15, BPN. “If we don’t take any measures, it would cause a gap in the balance of payments, a sharp rise in inflation and a decline in people’s incomes,” Prime Minister Raman Haloŭčanka said at talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow on March 14, assessing the possible consequences of Western sanctions.

“In recent weeks, the Republic of Belarus has been hit by Western sanctions, as has the Russian Federation. The sanctions were imposed on us “for complicity” or “assistance” in the Russian military operation in Ukraine. A number of sanctions mirror those imposed on the Russian Federation, while some surpass them,” Haloŭčanka said.

In particular, he said, there is an embargo on almost all export-oriented sectors of the Belarusian economy that means “full-fledged sectoral sanctions targeting mechanical engineering, woodworking, construction materials, chemicals, petrochemicals, tobacco and other products. The list is rather long.”

Haloŭčanka also admitted that “the Belarusian banking system is experiencing the most serious problems. Because of its small size, it is now under the cross-sectional total sanctions of the European Union and the United States.”

“On top of this, there is a de facto embargo on the supply of Western components and raw materials,” said the Prime Minister of Belarus.

In his opinion, the purpose of the sanctions is “to cause a crisis in the economy, to increase discontent, to make a new attempt at undermining the country and to bring to power an anti-Russian regime to be run by the exiled opposition.”

“Therefore, in these circumstances, we must act quickly and in a coordinated manner. Given the high vulnerability of the Belarusian economy to external shocks, we count on the support of the Russian Federation in this difficult period,” Haloŭčanka concluded.