Belarus threatens to shut European transit routes if sanctions imposed

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, facing a nearly three-week popular uprising since a disputed election, threatened on Friday to cut off European transit routes across his country if sanctions are imposed.

Speaking during a dairy factory visit in the country’s east, Lukashenko said he would block European neighbours from shipping goods to Russia over Belarusian territory, and divert exports now shipped through ports in EU member Lithuania.

Goods from landlocked Belarus account for almost a third of Lithuania’s rail traffic and port volume. Belarus is also a major overland route for European goods bound for Russia, and carries pipelines used to ship Russian oil to Europe.

Lukashenko denies opposition accusations that he rigged an August 9 election to prolong his 26-year rule. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to demand he step down. He says the protesters are funded by the West, and accuses Nato of massing forces on Belarusian frontiers, which the alliance denies.

Lukashenko said he had ordered half the army to enter combat preparedness, and had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin that their troops could unite in the event of a threat from the West.