How the Belarusian economy is connected with the outside world. What is important to know

The European Union said it was preparing sanctions against Belarus for the forced landing of a Ryanair passenger airliner in MINSK and the subsequent arrest of Roman Protasevich, ex-editor-in-chief of the Nexta TELEGRAM channel, and his girlfriend, Russian Sofya Sapieha. For the first time during the current political crisis around Belarus, these could be “targeted economic sanctions,” the EU pointed out, and not just personal sanctions against officials, security forces and some enterprises. One of the possible measures may affect the EXPORT of potash fertilizers, one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings of Belarus, BLOOMBERG wrote, citing sources.

The European Union has already recommended that European airlines not fly through the airspace of Belarus, which will lead to the loss of Minsk's foreign exchange earnings from air traffic control and air navigation services for transit flights. The United States also promised to think about further measures to influence the regime of Belarusian President ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO.

The Belarusian opposition is lobbying for such potential sanctions as an embargo on imports of goods from Belarus to the European Union and a ban on new investment from European countries in the Belarusian economy, the Financial Times reported on May 25. According to the document, which the reporters saw, the sanctions may affect the supply of oil products, potash fertilizers, metals and timber, which together account for about half of the republic's merchandise exports.