Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė on Thursday dismissed speculation that the United States had urged Lithuania to resume the transit of Belarusian potash fertilisers, saying the issue was being unnecessarily escalated.
“We are escalating many issues that perhaps do not need to be escalated at all. One of them is the transit of fertilisers from Belarus,” Ruginienė told a program on lrytas.lt.
“This issue has never been raised or discussed, either behind the scenes or in the international arena. In my work and cooperation with Americans, we have discussed many topics, but we have never, ever talked about fertiliser transit. There has been no request from them,” she added.
Ruginienė also noted that US officials had not raised the issue last December, when Washington lifted sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilisers in exchange for the release of prisoners held in Belarus. The move sparked speculation among political observers that the US might pressure Lithuania to allow transit through the port of Klaipėda.
Belaruskali, the Belarusian potash fertiliser giant, shipped its products through Lithuania and the port of Klaipėda until February 2022, when Lithuania suspended transit, citing US sanctions and national security concerns.
President Gitanas Nausėda told BNS earlier this month that Lithuania would maintain its firm position if pressured to resume fertiliser transit and that he hoped to coordinate the stance with neighbouring countries. He also said he had received assurances from Poland and Latvia that they would align with Lithuania on the issue.
The European Union has also imposed sanctions on Belarusian fertilisers, and the bloc is expected to decide in February whether to extend them.
‘No one in the world will change our position’
President Gitanas Nausėda also said Lithuania will not consider resuming the transit of Belarusian fertilisers, at least as long as smuggler balloons keep coming into the country and disrupting its civil aviation.
“Any talk of fertiliser transit is completely unfounded and will remain so as long as even a single balloon from Belarus flies into Lithuania,” Nausėda told reporters on Thursday.
“We are completely blocked on this issue and no one in the world will change our position,” he added.
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