Lithuanian trucks stuck in Belarus will be moved to specially equipped parking lots in the Kotlovka area by Minsk's decision, reports LRT. It is possible that they will be confiscated.
"Due to Lithuania's unilateral decision to close the Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints on the Belarusian side, cargo vehicles of Lithuanian carriers have accumulated. In order to ensure the safety and protection of these vehicles, Belarus has decided to move them to specially equipped parking lots near the Kotlovka checkpoint," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus reported.
"Those who are guarding them asked, I believe, for 120 euros per day. We paid for the security. How many days they will stand — multiply by 120 euros — pay, take the vehicles with the cargo. If this is not done in the next few days, we will make a decision, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, in accordance with our laws. Up to the confiscation of these vehicles. They cannot be left on the roads — 1100 or 1200 huge trucks that stood somewhere there on the road," noted Belarusian President Lukashenko.
"We have long been ready to open the border. We did not close it," he added.
The head of the Linava transport association, Erlandas Mikėnas, said that Lithuanian carriers will incur even greater losses because of this.
"Where the vehicles are standing, that is where we will pay — I mean the owners of the parking lots, Belarusian legal entities. The police are patrolling the area, large forces are involved, and they do not even allow trucks to approach the border. By the time we open the borders and can leave from there, the accumulated amounts will be such that it will simply be unprofitable to retrieve the vehicles," said E. Mikėnas in an interview with LRT Radio.
Earlier, the Lithuanian National Association of Carriers Linava reported that about 5000 Lithuanian trucks and semi-trailers were stuck in Belarus; according to Linava, by the beginning of this week, their number had decreased to about 4500.
A truck with a trailer, depending on the year of manufacture, costs between 30,000 to 100,000 euros. If we assume that the average cost of one truck is about 50,000 euros, then the total value of all trucks stuck in Belarus may amount to around 225 million euros.
In the event of their confiscation, the Lithuanian transport sector will suffer a blow from which it is unlikely to recover.
According to the press, drivers are given the opportunity to leave the territory of Belarus and return to Lithuania, leaving the trucks at the mentioned parking lots in Kotlovka, which is located opposite the Lithuanian border checkpoint of Lavoriškės.
"Lithuania urges carriers to document their incurred losses so that, if there are legal possibilities, they can be recovered from Belarus or its property," said the advisor to the Prime Minister, Ignas Dobrovolskas.
"The situation with possible confiscations should be reviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am sure that we will also find certain arguments in our arsenal, and most likely, this work is already underway," said the head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vladislav Kondratovich, to journalists on Monday after a meeting with the Speaker of the Seimas, Juozas Olekas.
Leave a comment