(Read the full article on BELTA.BY)
Belarus introduces a ban on rail transit from Lithuania for a group of goods. Anatoly Glaz, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, told journalists today, BelTA has learned.
Anatoly Glaz recalled that Lithuania had banned the transit of Belarusian goods through its ports. The Belarusian side has repeatedly offered consultations to resolve issues in the legal field, but Lithuania did not enter into a dialogue. According to the press secretary, guided by the principles of good neighborliness and not wanting to cause damage to the “long-suffering Lithuanian people,” Belarus refrained from harsh retaliatory measures in connection with the “consistent hostile actions of the reckless Lithuanian leadership.”
“Belarus cannot ignore this hybrid attack and is forced, as warned in advance, to take retaliatory measures. We have decided to ban the transit through its territory of oil products, chemical and mineral fertilizers shipped from Lithuania by rail, loaded at the stations of the Lithuanian Railways. About 1.5-1.6 million tons of such goods are transported on the territory of the Republic of Belarus in the amount of more than $1 billion annually,” the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“The direct losses of the port of Klaipeda, the Lithuanian railways and other participants in the Lithuanian supply chain will be calculated for a long time, but it is already clear that they amount to hundreds of millions of euros. reserves the right to take further economic actions, including jointly with its partners, as a result of which the Lithuanian transit infrastructure may go to waste,” Anatoly Glaz emphasized.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed regret that the many thousands of staff of the Lithuanian Railways, business representatives and ordinary Lithuanians will bear serious costs. “History has shown that Belarus has always been and will be on your side and puppet politicians will not be able to completely break our cultural, historical and business ties. In the current situation, you can count on our understanding, but all complaints must be addressed to the political elite that holds power today in Lithuania. The Belarusian side remains open to dialogue and is always ready to listen to the proposals of official Vilnius on resolving all issues in the legal field,” the ministry stressed.
The day before, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko spoke about the planned retaliatory measures against Lithuania after the cessation of the transit of Belarusian potassium. “Indeed, the Lithuanian side has stopped accepting our trains, which transported potash to the port of Klaipeda for shipment. The response will be tough. We, as they say, will respond symmetrically. The decision has been made, it will affect the railway transport that follows from the territory of Lithuania,” he said. Roman Golovchenko.