Despite earlier indications that Belarus might allow Lithuanian trucks to return home through the Šalčininkai border crossing, no breakthrough has been reported, Lithuanian officials said Friday.
After a meeting of the National Security Commission, the prime minister’s adviser Ignas Dobrovolskas told reporters that Belarus is still not letting the trucks through.
“We want our trucks to return to Lithuania, but the border remains closed. We are talking only about an evacuation corridor for the return of our trucks. This proposal has been passed on to Belarus so that we can retrieve our vehicles,” Dobrovolskas said.
According to the government, around 1,000 Lithuanian-registered trucks remain stranded in Belarus, including about 400 waiting on the Belarusian side of the Šalčininkai checkpoint.
“We will allow our trucks to come back, but the process is being blocked by the Belarusian side,” Dobrovolskas said.
When asked whether Lithuania might consider additional measures if Belarus continues to block the vehicles, Dobrovolskas did not rule it out.
“When it comes to hostile states, there are always discussions about sanctions or other actions. But right now, the issue of the [evacuation] corridor has not been resolved, so we will see how that develops. I can’t speak about specific sanctions yet, but as always, both Russia and Belarus are under consideration,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Road Carriers Association Linava said the decision to open the Šalčininkai crossing to trucks now lies with the Lithuanian government.
Oleg Tarasov, Linava’s vice president, said Belarusian border officials at the local level have expressed readiness to reopen the crossing.
“Today we learned that the Lida district border authorities on the Belarusian side have agreed to resume operations at the checkpoint,” Tarasov told BNS. “As I was told, the ball is now in our court. After today’s [National Security Commission] meeting, a decision will be made on whether Lithuania agrees to reopen the post.”
