Belarus is still blocking Lithuanian freight trucks from leaving special holding areas despite Lithuania reopening two border checkpoints at midnight, the head of the national road carriers association Linava said Thursday.
Erlandas Mikėnas, the association’s president, told LRT RADIO that Belarusian authorities are demanding a meeting between the foreign ministries of both countries before allowing Lithuanian trucks to depart.
“I received information that the Belarusian side is demanding consultations at the level of the foreign ministries. I have a copy of the letter requesting such consultations,” Mikėnas said. “In my opinion, this is extortion.”
According to him, Minsk has not issued instructions to release Lithuanian trucks from the designated lots, though haulers from Uzbekistan “are somehow moving”.
Earlier Thursday, Mikėnas told BNS that trucks were expected to start moving at 08:00, but that did not happen. He said a few trucks managed to cross into Lithuania via the Šalčininkai checkpoint, but the vast majority remain blocked.
Povilas Drižas, secretary general of the International Transport and Logistics Alliance, said Belarusian officials were still deciding whether to allow Lithuanian carriers to leave the lots and whether they would be permitted to transit through Belarusian territory.
The Lithuanian government on Wednesday decided to reopen its border with Belarus 10 days earlier than planned. Operations at the Medininkai and Šalčininkai checkpoints resumed at midnight Thursday.
In response to Lithuania’s earlier border closure, Minsk in early November banned Lithuanian trucks on its territory from returning home until the border reopened. Most were moved to special lots, where drivers face a fee of €120 per day for each truck or trailer. Those who do not pay risk having their vehicles confiscated.
Minsk accuses Vilnius of disregard for rules
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Ruslan Varankov said on Thursday that Vilnius’ unilateral decisions to close and reopen border checkpoints shows “disregard for its international legal obligations”.
“The decision to close the border was taken unilaterally by the Lithuanian side, was purely political in nature and was made outside the procedures and deadlines provided for in existing international treaties. For example, in accordance with the bilateral agreement on border crossing points, an official notification of such actions must be sent in advance: from one to five days, depending on the situation,” Varanov is quoted by the Belta news agency.
Reopening the two border checkpoints was also carried out “in violation of established procedures”, he added. Moreover, Varanov noted, the risk remains of Vilnius unilaterally closing the border again.
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