OREANDA-NEWS. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed the government to buy out foodstuffs that have piled up on the Belarusian-Russian border due to the recently imposed sanctions.

During the meeting with Premier Mikhail Myasnikovich on Monday the president said that foodstuffs that are banned from entering Russia should have a chance to be sold or processed in Belarus. In his words, this will help foreign suppliers to decently handle the recently introduced sanctions.

According to the president, such move of Belarus is unlikely to harm Russia's interests. Lukashenko is convinced that it does not conflict Belarus' obligations.

“When I had a conversation with the Russian president, we were talking about what he called the Russian market protection. This means that we must fulfill our obligations to protect the Customs Union market from transit of Western cargo through Belarus to the Russian territory. Whereas Russia shut its market for certain goods, then we must not let those goods in through transit across Belarus to Russia,” he said.

On August 7, Russia banned imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, dairy products, fruits and vegetables from Australia, Canada, Norway, the U.S. and the E.U. for one year as an answer to the Western sanctions.