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Belarusian ruler Lukashenko: "What if we turn off the gas valve there?"
Photo: Nikolai Petrov / imago images / ITAR-TASS
In the refugee dispute with the European Union, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko threatened countermeasures in the event of new EU sanctions.
"If they impose new sanctions on us, we have to react," said Lukashenko, according to the state news agency Belta.
He mentioned the possibility of stopping gas deliveries coming from Russia to the EU via a pipeline through Belarus.
“We're heating up Europe, they're still threatening to close the border.
What if we turn off the gas valve there?
That is why I would recommend the Polish leadership, the Lithuanians and other mindless people to think before they speak, ”said Lukashenko.
The so-called Yamal pipeline, which runs through Belarus, can theoretically transport up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Poland and Germany.
However, the Russian Gazprom Group had recently significantly reduced deliveries via the pipeline.
According to media reports, the deliveries have even been completely stopped recently.
The European Union accuses Lukashenko of deliberately bringing migrants to the borders of the EU states Poland, Latvia and Lithuania in order to retaliate against previous EU sanctions.
In the Belarusian-Polish border region, thousands of people are currently stuck in freezing temperatures.
The EU has launched new sanctions that will be formally adopted in the coming week.
They are directed against around 30 airlines, travel agencies or other responsible persons who are supposed to support Belarus in smuggling refugees.
mic / AFP / Reuters
