US Special Envoy for Belarus John Cole urged Lithuania to hold a bilateral political meeting with Minsk and restore the transit of Belarusian fertilizers.
"Yes, I believe it is necessary. (...) We need to sit down and talk. If it doesn’t work out, then you get up and leave. But I hope that Lithuania will agree to a bilateral dialogue at the level of deputy foreign ministers. We need to eliminate the obstacles that hinder life on both sides of the border," said Cole in an interview with the national broadcaster LRT, published on Friday.
The diplomat emphasized that the resumption of fertilizer transit through Lithuania aligns with Washington's interests.
"I discussed this with Brooke Rollins, the US Secretary of Agriculture. She confirmed that it would be extremely beneficial for the United States to receive these fertilizers," noted the envoy.
According to him, potassium fertilizers from Belarus should go through Lithuania, which would open their way to Europe and then to the United States.
Cole proposed to hold a meeting at the level of deputy ministers, emphasizing the need for dialogue with Alexander Lukashenko without "preconditions."
"Look, the world is full of good and bad people, but the more they communicate, the better. President Trump went to North Korea. (...) And that’s how something gets done - through communication. By setting preconditions, you won’t achieve anything. Then they might talk, or they might not. You won’t get anything that way," he added.
In the interview, he also mentioned that he urged Lukashenko to release the detained Lithuanian trucks in Belarus.
On Thursday, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that around 100 previously detained trucks had already returned from Belarus through the "Mėdiininkai" and "Šalčininkai" border crossing points.
In turn, Gitanas Nausėda stated that he warned the US representative against excessive trust in the rhetoric of the Minsk regime.
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