Belarus 'could close borders' if crisis worsens

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko warned Friday that he would have to "close" the country's border and limit imports if the ex-Soviet state descends into further economic crisis. "If it gets really bad, then we will close the border and only purchase our own things," Lukashenko said in a nationally-aired press conference. "But I hope that we won't have to do that," he added. "We will get out of this situation in a few months." Belarus is undergoing its worst economic crisis since the Soviet-era and was forced to devalue its currency by more than a third last month amid a nation-wide run on banks and currency exchange points.