OREANDA-NEWS. The Belarusian authorities will develop additional measures in response to the sanctions imposed by the West. This was stated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, December 16, at a meeting on counteraction to sanctions.

"As for the retaliatory measures, which have already been taken and will be developed: it is not an active position of our people, we do not have the spirit of war in our blood, and, by the way, we did not start it. Therefore, we are always open for a constructive dialogue on an equal basis without conditions and ultimatums,"- BelTA quoted him.

Earlier, December 10, Lukashenko said that Western pressure on Belarus would increase, new sanctions packages were possible. He recalled that Western countries had already imposed the fifth package of sanctions on Minsk. According to him, such economic pressure is needed to "strangle" Belarus, as well as to change the government and the state system.

On 2 December, the U.S., Canada and the UK introduced a new package of sanctions against Belarus amid the migration crisis on the country's border with Poland. The US sanctions list included 10 individuals, 12 organizations and three aircraft.