President of Lithuanian Industrialists: Lukashenka's Regime Won't Live a Month If He Closes Borders

Stopping cargo transportation and transit will, first of all, hurt the "cockroach" itself.

After threats from Lukashenka, the General Secretary of the Linava Association Zenonas Buivydas visited the checkpoint on the border with Belarus and said that now the movement across the border is going on as usual.

According to him, it is unlikely that the border will be completely closed. President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists Vidmantas Janulevičius said that this would hurt Belarus first of all.

"Everything is going on normally, now [at the border] there are no changes. We talked with the drivers who were driving from the other side; everyone said that there hadn't been any changes," Buivydas said in the "Day on Delfi" program. According to him, the Belarusian customs are carrying out strict control of cars with European numbers: "They are sent for the X-ray check. There they stand in line for several hours."

The expert believes that it is impossible to completely close the border: "Most of the flows go to Kaliningrad, it seems to me that all the same, the cargo should pass. Business is always looking for opportunities to improve, accelerate, or increase the level of transport safety; I think, they will carry it through Russia-Latvia. "

He believes that Lukashenka's statement is political and does not coincide with the economic opportunities of Belarus: "The stoppage of cargo transportation and transit will hurt Belarus itself first of all. This is an attempt to say, do not meddle in our affairs and leave behind, but I doubt that there will be real action. No one can live long without money, and no one will give them money for a long time either."

Janulevičius predicts that the neighbors will stop factories, stop collecting money for transit: "Finally, they import goods into Belarus, from which they receive VAT, this is about 70% of Belarus' GDP. <...> Neither the regime itself nor business will be able to live with closed borders even for a month."

In addition, the expert drew attention to the fact that part of the equipment produced in Belarus is sold to Russia, and the components for them are manufactured in Poland and Germany. "The question is, if we don't bring these computers, how will they assemble the final product and sell it? They will reorient themselves, find suppliers in Asia - yes, perhaps in six months or a year, but will there be anything to save?"