Belarus’ state-owned potash fertiliser manufacturer Belaruskali has launched investment arbitration proceedings against Lithuania, seeking compensation for losses caused when Vilnius banned the company from transporting its products across the country.
Belaruskali’s fertiliser exports via Lithuania stopped on February 1, 2022, after the government ordered the state-owned railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (LTG) to terminate its long-term contract with the Belarusian manufacturer.
“Belaruskali has filed a notice of arbitration,” Gabriele Vasiliauskaitė, an adviser to Transport Minister Marius Skuodis, told BNS on Tuesday.
“It was filed on the basis of the Treaty of March 5, 1999, between the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Belarus on the promotion and protection of investments,” Vasiliauskaitė said. “The content of the arbitration notice is currently being analysed and a response will be provided according to the established procedures.”
She added she would not comment any further so as “not to harm Lithuania’s interests in the arbitration case”.
The TV3.lt news website has reported that Belaruskali is demanding around a billion euros in damages from Lithuania.
In January 2022, the Lithuanian cabinet endorsed a conclusion by a special governmental commission that LTG’s contract with Belaruskali ran contrary to Lithuania’s national security interests. At the time, Vilnius was criticising the Minsk government over its crackdown of pro-democratic protests triggered by the 2020 presidential election.
Belaruskali has been transporting fertilisers from Belarus to the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipėda for over a decade. The contract was not set to expire before the end of 2023.
Belaruskali’s shipments were handled at the port by Birių Krovinių Terminalas (BKT), a bulk cargo terminal co-owned by the local businessman Igor Udovickij and Belaruskali itself.
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