Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says he received assurances from the leadership of neighboring Poland and Latvia that they will adhere to a unified position with Lithuania on the issue of exporting Belarusian fertilizers.
“At the recent forums in Helsinki and Brussels, I spoke because it was important for me to hear the opinion of the leadership of Poland and Latvia: would they maintain as firm a position as Lithuania in the hypothetical case that a proposal comes in for the export of Belarusian fertilizers through their ports. And the answer was 'yes',” the head of state said in an interview with the news service of TV3 last Thursday.
Lithuania suspended the transit of Belarusian potash fertilizers on February 1, 2022, after the United States imposed sanctions in 2021 against the largest producer, the company 'Belaruskalij'. These sanctions came into effect on December 8, 2021.
Subsequently, similar restrictive measures against Belarusian fertilizers were introduced by the European Union (EU).
Despite the agreement reached in mid-December between the United States and Belarus to lift American sanctions on fertilizers in exchange for the release of more than 100 prisoners, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys emphasized that this decision would not affect Lithuania and the EU — European sanctions remain in force.
In Nauseda's opinion, the United States, in deciding to lift these sanctions, pursues different goals.
“This state across the Atlantic Ocean is undoubtedly guided by a different global geopolitical strategy, influenced in part by its scale. We are in a part of the continent that can be called a hotspot, where aggressive states operate. And appeasing aggressors or kneeling before them leads to being perceived as weak, which only fuels their aggressive ambitions. Therefore, we adhere to the stance that I have repeatedly voiced - this thought I like very much - a values-based policy is the most justified policy,” the president said on Thursday.
EU sanctions against 'Belaruskalij' were introduced on March 2, 2022, by adopting a regulation that prohibits the transportation of potash fertilizers from Belarus. These measures are regularly extended; the Community is expected to decide on further steps at the beginning of next year.
The transit of 'Belaruskalij' products from the border with the Republic of Belarus to the port of Klaipeda has been carried out for over ten years.
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