President Putin said he did not agree with President Lukashenko's proposal to disrupt gas exports through Belarus if the European Union imposed more sanctions on Minsk.
The Russian leader told Moscow's Rossiya-1 TV channel on November 13: "There will be nothing good about this." He added that his counterpart Lukashenko did not come up with the idea of closing the gas transit earlier this month, when the two leaders spoke over the phone and attended an online event together.
It would violate our gas transit agreement and I hope it wont go so far. It will cause great damage to the European energy industry and do not help the development of our relations with Belarus as a transit country, President Putin said.
Mr. Putin promised to discuss gas supply threats with Mr. Lukashenko if necessary.
On November 11, the President of Belarus warned that when considering sanctions, European leaders should remember that he could "cut" the flow through the Yamal- Europe pipeline - a gas pipeline from Russia's Yamal Peninsula and Western Siberia to Germany and other EU countries.
The EU accused Belarus of helping refugees from the Middle East to its territory and then pushing them to Europe. More than 2,000 refugees have gathered at the Belarus- Poland border, despite the cold of November and the spicy air launched by Polish border guards.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on November 8 asked EU member states to accept additional sanctions for what she called a "hybrid attack" on the alliance.
Meanwhile, Belarus accused the EU of launching a joint war against Minsk by supporting pro-Belarus figures and media.
