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Belarus launches customs checks at Russian border

The Belarusian authorities introduced "increased" customs controls on Wednesday morning on all major highways linking the country to Russia in retaliation for Moscow’s ban on the import of Belarusian dairy produce, BelaPAN said.

The dispute, which prompted Alyaksandr Lukashenka to boycott a security summit in Moscow earlier this week, showed no signs of easing as the Belarusian government recalled its negotiators from the Russian capital on Monday.

“Unfortunately, we have to say that no changes have occurred in the Russian partners’ approaches to our cooperation in the last few days,” Yury Zhadobin, state secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, said in an interview brodacast by Belarus’ Channel One on Tuesday night.

The official accused Russia of harming Belarus’ economic security “under far-fetched pretexts.” “In this context, we have to introduce tightened controls over the movement of goods on major highways linking our countries,” he said.

Mr. Zhadobin described the move as a “symmetrical response” to Russia’s actions and promised that it would not affect “ordinary people.”

Alyaksandr Shpilewski, chairman of the State Customs Committee, said on June 16 that the customs controls would be introduced in pursuance of Mr. Lukashenka’s directive at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

Explaining the move, the customs chief said that smuggled goods worth more than 8.6 billion rubels had been found in trucks originating from Russia in the first half of June alone.

Earlier this month, Russia`s federal consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor banned the import of nearly all Belarusian dairy products, citing the producers’ failure to meet Russia’s food standards in effect since December 2008.

Rospotrebnadzor said on June 16 that it was taking a break from negotiations with the Belarusian government on the matter, referring to controversial public comments by Belarusian government officials and state media reports and raising doubts as to whether agreements reached with a delegation of Belarusian negotiators “coincide with the position of Belarusian government officials.” The Belarusian delegation left Moscow on the same day.