Lukashenko says trade with Poland could help avoid war as Poles spurn pellets

Lukashenko urges trade with neighbours

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said during a working visit to the Minsk region on 12 October 2026 that Belarus must build business relations and economic cooperation with its western neighbours, even in the current difficult situation. He named Poland, Lithuania and Latvia and linked the need for cooperation to food shortages in Europe caused by drought. Belarus's state news agency BelTA cited his remarks. He argued that if neighbours stopped looking at each other only through the sights of their weapons and began to cooperate economically, it could mean that Belarus avoids a war.

Firewood and pellets left unsold

Lukashenko said he was sincerely surprised by the Poles. He said firewood had become more expensive in Poland, in Lithuania and among all of Belarus's neighbours, and suggested that they buy firewood, pellets and similar products at a reasonable price. He said the neighbours insisted on their position, and that if they did not want to buy, they did not have to. He also said Belarus would no longer be able to sell pellets to them and would increase its own use of pellets. He pointed to a modern boiler produced by plants in Homel, into which pellets are loaded into a hopper and fed automatically. He added that Belarus itself would need the wood and pellets.

Former ambassador reads the offer as a sanctions strategy

Paweł Łatuszka, a former Belarusian ambassador to Poland, told Fakt that Lukashenko's declarations on economic cooperation fit his existing strategy. Łatuszka said Lukashenko is trying to persuade the West to lift sanctions and resume trade, because the Belarusian economy is in a very difficult situation. He said Lukashenko occasionally meets European diplomats and tells them not to interfere in Belarus's internal affairs, that he does not intend to change his policy, and that repression will continue, with no independent media, political parties or non-governmental organisations. In exchange, according to Łatuszka, European diplomats could gain from trade with Belarus.

Polish regulator flags a systemic problem

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) said high pellet prices are not new for the administration. Its president, Tomasz Chróstny, had drawn the Ministry of Energy's attention to the market situation before the latest price rises. He did so three times this year, in February, April and July, informing the minister about the causes of the situation and ways to change it. UOKiK describes the problem as systemic.

The office outlined two levers. The Ministry of Energy could limit pellet consumption by energy and heating companies to protect individual buyers from price increases. The Ministry of Climate and Environment, which oversees PGL Lasy Państwowe, could increase the supply of raw material for pellet production. UOKiK's analysis identifies rising demand, which supply of pellets and their raw material cannot keep up with, as the main reason for higher prices. Chróstny said it is not yet too late to act.