Belarus announces EU, UK and US food restrictions

MOSCOW, Dec 11 (ANSA) — In yet another episode of the crisis between Belarus and the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, the government of Minsk announced this Saturday (11) that it would ban agri-food products. “hostile nation” from January 1, 2022.

Since August last year, Western countries have imposed a number of political and economic sanctions against allies of the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. The president, considered “the last dictator in Europe” to be in power since 1994, is accused of election fraud and human rights violations of opponents.

According to the state news agency Belta, Lukashenko himself announced the embargo during a meeting of the Better Council of the Eurasian Economic Union. The measure is another sign of the dependence of the Russian president, who remains the government’s only major partner.

Also according to the politician, Belarus imported about US$530 million in products in the first 10 months of 2021.

Lukashenko guaranteed that there would be no shortage in the country.

Apart from the European bloc, the USA and the United Kingdom, the country will stop importing products from Canada, Norway, Albania, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Switzerland. The main products affected would be fresh pork, salami and sausages in general, fruits, nuts and salt. (ANSA).