29 March, Novopolotsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Sanctions against Belarus will affect partner countries and ordinary people. This opinion was expressed today in Novopolotsk at the First Belarusian-Latvian Forum of Twin Cities by the head of the Society for Support of Economic Relations between Latvia and Belarus, Alfreds Cepanis, BELTA correspondent reports. According to the head of the society, Belarus will be able to redirect its export cargo through Russia and Ukraine, while Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – Belarus's partner countries – will lose out. "This will be a big blow to Latvia – railway transport, cargo transshipment through seaports, and much more will decrease. Latvia will lose tens of millions of euros in its budget, and unemployment will also increase, which will create social tension, and, consequently, ordinary people will suffer," stated Alfreds Cepanis. The head of the Society for Support of Economic Relations between Latvia and Belarus is convinced that sanctions against Belarus are a foolish and ill-considered step by the European Union. "They are adopted at the very top, and their author, Ms. Ashton, will most likely have difficulty finding Belarus on the world map. Let these politicians do their business, and we, the people who are engaged in business and have gathered here today, will do what we deem necessary," concluded Alfreds Cepanis.-0-

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