BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/10/2006

Lukashenko dismisses talk of EU sanctions against Belarus

BOBRUISK, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Belarusian president said Saturday the country would not be hurt if the European Union imposed trade sanctions against it.

"We'll survive. We've gone through worse times," Alexander Lukashenko said in response to a journalist's question about the possible cancellation of EU trade preferences for Belarus.

"I don't think our trade system would crash," he said.

But he said he hoped common sense will prevail and the EU will not impose economic sanctions against Belarus.

The EU in April approved a ban on entry to the EU against 31 Belarusian officials, after presidential elections in the country in March were declared fraudulent by international observers and opposition leaders. The EU also decided in May to freeze the accounts of President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by Washington.

Source:

http://en.rian.ru/world/20061007/54602028.html