MOSCOW (REUTERS) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday (Aug 28) he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin that their countries could unite their troops in the event of a threat from the West, the Belta state news agency reported.
Mr Lukashenko, who is facing the biggest challenge in his 26 years in power after protests and strikes erupted following a contested Aug 9 election, added that not a single Russian soldier has yet crossed the border into Belarus.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Lukashenko ordered half of the country's the army enter combat preparedness in response to what he said were threats from the West.
On Friday, he also threatened to retaliate with reciprocal measures if any sanctions were imposed against his country over the disputed presidential election.
Speaking during a dairy factory visit in the country's east, Mr Lukashenko threatened to cut off transit routes through the country and boycott Lithuanian ports if sanctions were imposed.
"I've instructed the government to submit a proposal on reorienting all trade flows from Lithuanian ports to other ones," Belta state news agency quoted Mr Lukashenko as saying. "Let's see how they live with that."
However, Lithuania will continue working towards sanctions on Belarus officials, the spokesman for President Gitanas Nauseda told Reuters.
"The President supports effective sanctions on Belarus, at European, regional and national levels. They are used as an answer to violence of government institutions and human rights violations in the country", spokesman Antanas Bubnelis said.
European Union foreign ministers on Thursday sought sanctions against Belarus to pressure Mr Lukashenko into holding new elections. Mr Lukashenko denies electoral fraud and has persistently rejected the opposition's calls to hold a new vote.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters she had tried to speak to Mr Lukashenko by phone but he had declined. Speaking of a reserve police force which Russian President Vladimir Putin said had been created on Mr Lukashenko's request, she said: "I hope that such troops are not deployed."
"(Freedom to demonstrate, freedom of expression) have to be fought for there. The people must be allowed to do that themselves without interference from outside - from anywhere," Dr Merkel added.
EU ministers are currently considering travel bans and asset freezes on up to 20 people responsible for a crackdown on demonstrators two weeks after an election they say was rigged.
It already has an arms embargo on Belarus but in 2015, in a bid to improve ties with Mr Lukashenko, the bloc eased economic sanctions.
However, Western powers are keen to balance sympathy for a nascent Belarusian pro-democracy movement with concern this could trigger a Russia-backed crackdown. Disruptions to energy supplies are also a fear.
Belarus is a conduit for Russian oil exports to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline. Energy supplies continue to flow smoothly, Polish oil and gas pipeline operators told Reuters.
