Ministry of Economic Development worries about inexplicable actions of Minsk

According to Andrei Slepnev, deputy head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Russia is seriously concerned about trade restrictions and the possibility of closing the border of Belarus for imports. Russia intends to get official consultations on this issue, and has already sent a request to Minsk in this regard. According to the information on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the negotiations may take place within the next week.

So far, Belarus has already restricted the lending and sale of currency. This has caused enormous losses to many Russian enterprises, amounting to tens of millions of dollars. Slepnev is convinced that there is no rational explanation for this picture.

In connection with the situation, one cannot but recall the recent statement by Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, that Minsk may refuse imports and close its borders for imports altogether. According to Slepnev, such actions violate not only the agreement within the Customs Union, but also important clauses of the agreement on a free trade zone. "We have long tried to understand the complexity of the economic situation in Belarus," he commented. – However, all patience comes to an end.

To be fair, it's worth remembering that such restrictive measures of the Belarusian authorities are explained by the currency crisis, which began in the spring of this year. The situation has been worrying the Moscow office for a long time and the Belarusian side has been repeatedly informed about it. Slepnev is convinced that the likelihood of Moscow's appeal to the court in connection with the situation is negligible, but deputy head refused to comment on what other actions Russian representatives might take.

Slepnev considers the revision of agreements on the granting of the loan to Belarus as one of the options for development. By the way, it's been recently decided to grant a stabilization loan to Minsk. The funds are to be provided from the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund, formed mainly by the Russian money. The total amount of the credit makes up $3 billion, the first part of which in the amount of $800 million must be received by Belarus already in June.