Kyiv Independent: Coale Pushes To Reopen Lithuanian Ports To Belarusian Potash Without Broad Support In Washington

Reform.news Editorial Team · 6 November 2026, 09:49

https://reform.news/en/kyiv-independent-coale-pushes-to-reopen-lithuanian-ports-to-belarusian-potash-without-broad-support-in-washington/

US President’s Special Envoy John Coale is seeking to reopen Lithuanian ports to Belarusian potash fertilisers without broad support within the US administration. The Kyiv Independent reported this, citing US and European officials.

Sources interviewed by the publication described Coale’s efforts as an independent initiative rather than the implementation of an agreed US policy. His attempts have not gained broad support within the administration.

A European official told the publication that the initiative to allow Belarusian potash fertiliser exports through Lithuania came exclusively from Coale. Lithuania has no plans to change its position. The source also noted that the US State Department had never raised the issue of transit in discussions with Lithuanian representatives.

A US government official similarly described the proposal as Coale’s “independent initiative,” saying that neither the State Department nor the administration as a whole was pursuing such a policy. US sources interviewed by the publication noted that foreign policy initiatives within the Donald Trump administration were often poorly coordinated. Career diplomats and the State Department were not always aware of initiatives undertaken by the president’s special envoys. At the same time, the sources defended the lifting of US sanctions on Belarusian potash.