After the Lithuanian prime minister's statement that a significant portion of the trucks detained by Minsk has already been released and is back in operation, the head of the National Association of Road Carriers Linava expressed outrage: not a single truck has been released from the lots in Belarus.
According to Erlandas Mikėnas, Minsk continues to hold about 4,000 Lithuanian trucks, and none of them have returned to Lithuania.
"Let the prime minister first ask us and accept the action plan that we have been waiting for since the beginning of the crisis, rather than listening to rumors spread by unknown sources. According to our data, not a single truck has moved from the lots or been released," Mikėnas stated to BNS on Tuesday.
The president of Linava says that carriers are still gathering data on how many Lithuanian tractors and trailers are being held by Minsk, although this should be the responsibility of government representatives.
According to the Lithuanian Customs data published two weeks ago, 185 Lithuanian trucks and trailers are stuck in Belarus. Meanwhile, the association continues to publicly assert that about 4,000 vehicles remain there, of which 1,250 are tractors.
The International Road Transport Union (IRU), at the request of Linava, contacted Belarusian authorities two weeks ago to clarify the reasons for the detention of the trucks, specify their number and location, but there has been no response so far.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė assured on Tuesday that many of the trucks detained by Minsk are back in operation and traveling to Belarus.
"We have information that a significant portion of the trucks is already back in operation and is circulating between Lithuania and Belarus," Šimonytė told reporters in the Seimas on Tuesday.
"A small portion remains in Belarus; we are working on this as well, addressing the situation step by step," the prime minister added.
It should be noted that despite the open border, Minsk is not allowing Lithuanian freight vehicles to leave the country. The trucks are directed to special lots, where a fee of 120 euros per day is charged for each truck or trailer, and after 4 months of parking, Minsk intends to confiscate them.
