MINSK, Belarus, June 17 (UPI) -- The president of Belarus warned Friday that he would close international borders in the event of an economic emergency.
Washington and the European Union slapped Minsk with economic sanctions in response to a post-election crackdown. Alexander Lukashenko, the only president of a post-Soviet Belarus, responded to unrest after his re-election with the arrest of six presidential candidates and 600 opposition figures.
He warned last week that he wouldn't tolerate demonstrations against a declining economy. Moscow this week said it would respond with financial pressure if its media was silenced in Belarus and Bloomberg News reported that inflation in Belarus rose more than 13 percent in May.
Lukashenko, however, was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying there was no crisis in his country, only unwarranted panic.
"If there is an (economic) catastrophe, we will close our borders and only import what we need," he said in Minsk. "We have enough to buy food and clothes."
The Belarusian ruble is under pressure and the economy was hit hard by oil tariffs, leading to fuel rationing and other economic restrictions.
