Belarus leader thanks neighbours on sanctions stand

MINSK, Oct 7 (Reuters) President Alexander Lukashenko, normally a fierce critic of the West, thanked Belarus's neighbours today for blocking an EU plan to impose trade sanctions on the ex-Soviet state on human rights grounds.

Lukashenko, quoted by the BelTA news agency, thanked the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania for opposing the introduction of European Union trade sanctions in response to the president's contested landslide re-election last March.

Britain, France and the Scandinavian countries had pressed for tougher punitive moves by withdrawing Belarus's trade privileges, in place since the 1990s. But the two Baltic states and Poland said the move would hurt ordinary Belarussians.

''I am grateful not only to business in neighbouring countries, but also for the positions adopted by their political leadership,'' BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying while overseeing the harvest in eastern Belarus.

''In both Latvia and Lithuania, they all understood the great losses they would have suffered, including state budgets.'' The United States and the European Union have long accused Lukashenko of crushing rights by hounding opponents, closing down media and rigging elections. They both dismissed Lukashenko's victory in March as blatantly fraudulent and have barred entry to the president and more than 30 other officials.

They also demand the release of Alexander Kozulin, one of two opposition politicians to challenge the president in the March poll.

He was jailed for 5-1/2 years in connection with four days of unprecedented rallies sparked by the outcome.

Lukashenko has in turn accused the West of plotting to foment unrest and oust him. Relations with neighbouring states, now members of both the EU and NATO, have been especially sour.

Belarus and Poland expelled each other's diplomats last year after authorities in Minsk removed the leaders of a Polish cultural association and installed more compliant officials.

Relations with Latvia have been tense over the broadcast in Belarus of a film showing a man alleged to be a Latvian diplomat engaged in a homosexual act.

The EU's Executive Commission had backed the sanctions and further discussions may take place in Brussels next week.

Lukashenko said Belarus would withstand any new measures.

''If we do not get breaks from the EU, this does not mean under any circumstances that our trade will collapse,'' BelTa quoted him as saying.

''If sanctions are imposed, I will say only this: we will survive. We survived other things, we will survive this too.'' Reuters DKB GC2153