The United States is pressuring Lithuania to resume the transit of Belarusian fertilisers, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has said. He made the statement on May 13 during a closed meeting with lawmakers from the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, Lrytas reports, citing sources.
“Until today, both publicly and to you, I repeated that we were not experiencing any pressure from the Americans and were not receiving any questions related to fertilisers — how these sanctions are being implemented and so on. As of today, I can say that pressure is emerging,” Budrys said.
According to the Lithuanian foreign minister, Lithuania is cooperating with the United States and trying to understand what Washington wants, but will not automatically “jump on command.”
Budrys also stressed that Lithuania cannot independently lift the sanctions, as they were agreed at the European Union level.
It should be recalled that after his latest visit to Minsk in March, U.S. presidential special envoy John Coale stated the need for dialogue between Vilnius and Minsk and spoke in favour of resuming the transit of Belarusian fertilisers through Lithuania.
