After Lithuania decided to close its border with Belarus due to hybrid attacks, thousands of trucks remained on the unfriendly neighbor’s side, and now Minsk is threatening to seize them.
Vitalijus Gigevičius, the head of the transport company Kelruva, said that he was waiting for the government’s permission to go to Belarus, adding that seven trucks were currently there, the drivers of which are currently living in their vehicles.
Entrepreneurs have indicated that they are suffering losses worth millions of euros, which will affect everyone in the logistics sector. Gigevičius said that a third of the company’s work is related to Belarus.
Some of the cargo that crossed the border from Western Europe was heading east through Lithuania. The border closure has deprived Lithuania of its status as a transit country, and the entire flow has been diverted to Poland.
Two-thirds of Koldlita’s vehicles remain in Belarus. Company shareholder Ignas Motiejūnas said
they are trying to adapt, but the situation is currently critical.
He added that he did not expect the authorities to simply close the border without warning, preventing entrepreneurs from taking their equipment out of Belarus.
After closing the border, Minsk has banned trucks registered in Lithuania and Poland from moving through Belarus. As a result, thousands of trucks are currently stuck with the Belarusians. Lithuanian authorities have requested Minsk to allow the trucks to leave Belarus, but this has not happened. It is also unclear how, given the ban on moving along Belarusian roads, the trucks will get to the border. Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič said that the carriers will probably resolve the situation themselves, as they are better acquainted with the specifics of the territory.
Vilnius is not considering opening the border, and has said that the number of contraband balloons has decreased, despite the fact that the prevailing wind direction is favorable for launching them towards Lithuania. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said that, given the neighboring country, which uses anything it can to target Lithuania, resistance must be maintained.
Meanwhile, the country’s transport sector says that train freight traffic is still taking place despite the border being closed. Linava (Lithuanian National Road Transport Association) vice-president Oleg Tarasov said that if pressure is applied, it should apply to everyone without exception. Business owners are worried that logistics chains will now bypass Lithuania. Tarasov said that losses will be measured in billions of euros.
Small carriers say the impact will be very noticeable.
Motiejūnas emphasized that in the next couple of weeks something will still happen by inertia, but in a couple of months the effect will be felt in full, and Western goods will be transported in transit through Poland.
Experts have pointed out that sanctions and border closures only work if all countries in the region do so simultaneously. If Latvia and Poland do not follow Lithuania’s example, then the pressure on the Minsk regime is minimal, but local companies will suffer. Poland plans to open the border with Belarus in mid-November.
Aleksandras Izgorodinas, an economist at Citadele Bank, said that at that moment all cargo will be diverted to Poland, and this will be bad both economically and politically. He added, however, that cooperation with Belarus and Russia has always been risky, although slightly more profitable, and
entrepreneurs must accept that there is a risk.
Minsk has not ordered trucks to go to special parking lots in Katlovka district near the Lithuanian border. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko announced on November 10 that each truck will have to pay a daily fee of 120 euros. If it is not paid, the cars will be confiscated.
According to media reports, the drivers have been allowed to leave Belarus, but without the cars. However, Tarasov noted that the border is closed, and Lithuanians are not allowed to enter even through the Medininki border checkpoint.
Read the whole article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2741318/lithuania-s-border-closures-backfire-lukashenko-threatens-to-confiscate-stranded-lorries
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