Minsk's planned sanctions on Lithuanian trains carrying transit freight to Ukraine or Russia is unlikely to have a major impact on the Lithuanian economy, Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė said on Thursday.
The government is not considering specific measures to help businesses that might be affected by the ban, but it is working on universal measures against trade restrictions from third countries, including China, according to the minister.
Read more: Lithuanian exporters look for alternative routes as Belarus slams transit ban
Even if Belarus starts blocking the transit of rail freight, “different logistics chain can certainly be arranged”, Skaistė told the radio Žinių Radijas.
“We are working with specific companies to help them solve their problems, and we do have the situation under control,” she said. “I think there should be no real significant impact on our economy.”
According to Skaistė, affected businesses would receive support through the INVEGA agency in the form of soft loans.
Lithuanian Railways (LTG) confirmed on Wednesday that it had received a notification about Belarusian Railways' ban on the transit of rail freight from Lithuania as of February 7.
The state-owned railway group said that LTG Cargo, its freight subsidiary, was looking into possibilities for transporting goods via Poland.
According to LTG, oil products, fertilisers and ferrous metals are mostly transported from Lithuania through Belarus.
Orlen Lietuva exports oil products, while Achema ships nitrogen fertilisers to Ukraine.
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