Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said Lithuanian carriers can retrieve their trucks from Belarus by legal means without violating EU sanctions, Delfi reports, citing Elta. The statement follows a warning by the Financial Crime Investigation Service that payments to the sanctioned Belarusian company Beltamozhservice for the return of trucks could be considered a violation of sanctions.
“We see that some of them (carriers) have paid for parking. This means there are ways. I can only assure you that in all cases where such legal questions arise, we are ready to help and look for solutions,” Budrys said, adding that the ministry is ready to assist companies in finding lawful solutions.
According to him, the issue of compensating carriers for losses is being constantly discussed both within the European Commission and in the broader EU context.
“Of course, we are constantly discussing this issue and will continue to do so in the future. Does anyone here expect that by holding our property, restricting the activities of our companies, they could remain without consequences? This is certainly another additional argument in the dialogue with EU institutions regarding a common position on Belarus,” he noted.
No specific solution has yet been reached, but Budrys assured that discussions are ongoing.
According to the State Border Guard Service, over two weeks a total of 679 trucks that had been held in Belarus for several months returned to Lithuania. Carriers were allowed to retrieve their trucks from March 24, following talks between Aliaksandr Lukashenka and U.S. presidential envoy John Coale.
EU sanctions against Beltamozhservice have been in force since June 2022.
