Фото: ГТК
Belarus will make a decision regarding the trucks held in the country in due course and will notify Lithuania and Poland accordingly. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Ihar Sakreta following a meeting between Belarusian Prime Minister Alyaksandr Turchyn and Lithuanian and Polish carriers.
According to Turchyn, the Belarusian side does not seek to confiscate the vehicles that have been kept at designated parking sites since last autumn.
“We listened carefully to everyone who wished to speak. Each entrepreneur has their own situation, their own number of vehicles and rolling stock. It was important for us to hear this directly, because we have no official communication channel with Vilnius and were unable to obtain relevant information. Therefore, it was decided to review and comprehensively study these appeals and to meet with these people in order to understand the situation firsthand,” Sakreta explained.
He added that the costs incurred by parking site owners will have to be compensated, with the amount to be determined later.
“Naturally, Belarusian operating organizations whose parking facilities are holding these vehicles — trucks, trailers, semi-trailers — have incurred certain expenses. These costs will need to be compensated. A decision on the amount and the mechanism of payment will be made after a report is prepared. Decisions will be taken in due course, and we will inform our partners from Lithuania and Poland,” the deputy minister said.
It is noteworthy that on November 10, commenting on the situation, Alyaksandr Lukashenka had already mentioned a possible fee.
“The vehicles have been collected and are under guard. Those guarding them asked, I believe, for 120 euros per day. Pay for the security. Multiply 120 euros by the number of days — pay and take your vehicles with the cargo. If this is not done in the coming days, we will make a decision, as the Foreign Ministry stated, in accordance with our laws — up to and including confiscation,” he said at the time.
On the same day, Alyaksandr Turchyn reiterated that Belarus does not aim to confiscate the vehicles but seeks a negotiated solution.
Sakreta also said that Polish carriers had effectively been affected twice.
“First, Poland closed the border, allegedly due to the ‘Zapad-2025’ exercises. Carriers quickly began re-registering their vehicles in Lithuania, as Lithuanians were profiting from transporting Polish goods. Then Lithuania followed Poland’s example and closed the border as well. This created a deadlock, as a large number of truck combinations ended up owned by Polish operators but registered in Lithuania — either mixed combinations or fully re-registered vehicles in other jurisdictions,” he said.
It should be noted that back in 2023, after Poland closed the Bobrowniki checkpoint, Belarus restricted the movement of Polish carriers, allowing them to cross only through the Belarus–Poland section of the border, while carriers from other countries could also use crossings with Lithuania and Latvia.
Sakreta once again emphasized that confiscation is not the goal.
“You know what surprises me when I read the Lithuanian press in recent days? Headlines asking why Belarusians have not confiscated a single truck after four months. Let me repeat: our task is not to confiscate trucks. We are building long-term relations with our neighbors. We are not opportunists — we have lived, worked, and maintained good relations for decades.
We do not want to lose human contacts, ties, and business because of short-term political considerations, especially given the current unwillingness of the Lithuanian government to engage. Ordinary people understand this. Today, out of desperation, they said they would not receive compensation from their governments. Their hope is that the Belarusian government will take a decision allowing them to return to normal business activities for the benefit of Belarusians, Lithuanians, and Poles alike,” he said.