Trade between Estonia and Belarus, which is under European sanctions, reached 464 million euros ($536 million) this year, the highest figure on record, Estonian state media reported on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2021) Trade between Estonia and Belarus, which is under European sanctions, reached 464 million Euros ($536 million) this year, the highest figure on record, Estonian state media reported on Wednesday.
Structurally, most of the turnover was made up of oil and coal tar products, Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, told ERR.
"The lion's share of these imports is made up of various mineral products, fuel oils, of which we process a lot here. Imports of timber and timber products have started to increase. And then there is the metal," Puura said.
Last summer, the European Union expanded its list of sanctions against Minsk. Among others, the import of potassium chloride, which is actively used in agriculture as a mineral fertilizer as well as in petroleum products, was banned. The decision made by Brussels did not apply to transactions that were concluded before June 25, or additional agreements required to fulfill the relevant agreements. All subsequent agreements are subject to sanctions.
After the presidential election held in Belarus on August 9, 2020, in which Alexander Lukashenko won for the sixth time with 80.1% of the vote, massive opposition protests took place in the country. Relations between Belarus and Western countries after the election deteriorated sharply, and the European Union, Great Britain, the USA, Canada and a number of other countries gradually introduced sanctions against Belarusian officials, as well as enterprises, accusing Minsk of election and human rights violations. Lukashenko more than once accused the West of directly interfering in Belarusian affairs, claiming that the unrest is directed by the United States, with Europeans merely going along with it. Among the countries from which these protest actions are coordinated, he named Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Ukraine.
