{"id":526900,"date":"2026-03-19T14:18:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=526900"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:23:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:23:22","slug":"lithuanian-mps-met-coale-in-vilnius-ahead-of-minsk-visit-discussing-fertilisers-trucks-and-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/lithuanian-mps-met-coale-in-vilnius-ahead-of-minsk-visit-discussing-fertilisers-trucks-and-diplomacy","title":{"rendered":"Lithuanian MPs Met Coale in Vilnius Ahead of Minsk Visit, Discussing Fertilisers, Trucks, and Diplomacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

US President\u2019s Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale<\/b> met in Vilnius not only with Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginien\u0117<\/b> <\/a>ahead of his visit to Minsk. He also held talks with three Lithuanian politicians: Seimas members Rimas Jank\u016bnas<\/b> and Ignas V\u0117g\u0117l\u0117<\/b>, as well as Member of the European Parliament Petras Gra\u017eulis<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Participants confirmed the meeting to LRT<\/a>, saying it focused on Belarusian\u2013Lithuanian relations.<\/p>\n

“We agreed not to publicise this, because Alyaksandr Lukashenka reacts very sensitively. We discussed all the most pressing issues today, relations with Belarus, and the fact that our representatives refuse to form a delegation at the political level to address all the problems. We believe this is a mistake and that we should talk. If Donald Trump is talking, calling, and seeking contact, then we should not make too much of a show of it.<\/i><\/p>\n

We also discussed other issues \u2014 the story with balloons, the problem with trucks, and how to resolve it. I do not want to go into details, but if we had talked, perhaps those trucks would have been released. That is my conclusion,”<\/i> Gra\u017eulis said.<\/p>\n

According to him, the MPs\u2019 position differs from that of the government. He added that they also discussed a training ground in Kap\u010diamiestis near the Suwa\u0142ki corridor and sanctions on fertilisers.<\/p>\n

“Rimas Jank\u016bnas emphasised \u2014 and I agree \u2014 that sanctions on fertilisers are very beneficial for Vladimir Putin but harmful for Lithuania: fertiliser prices have risen, while the company Uralkali has become highly profitable. We said all this; it is a completely different position from what you will hear from our president or foreign minister,”<\/i> the MEP said.<\/p>\n

According to LRT, Gra\u017eulis was left with the impression that the trucks detained in Belarus could be released.<\/p>\n

“It is also reported that Mr Coale expressed hope that it would be possible to distance Lukashenka\u2019s regime from Mr Putin, but how this will be achieved remains unclear,”<\/i> the outlet said.<\/p>\n

Ignas V\u0117g\u0117l\u0117 declined to comment in detail on the meeting. According to Gra\u017eulis, however, he asked the most questions.<\/p>\n

“I would prefer not to speak about this meeting, as it took place before Mr Coale\u2019s negotiations in Belarus, which are very important for many families of political prisoners awaiting their return from prison. I want to wish Mr Coale success in these negotiations. Secondly, he is negotiating on our behalf, and this gives me hope that progress can be made. I also did everything I could to ensure this, so I listened more than I spoke,”<\/i> V\u0117g\u0117l\u0117 said.<\/p>\n

None of the three politicians holds a major office. Gra\u017eulis noted that he is a member of the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group, which maintains close ties with the administration of Donald Trump<\/b>, and it was through this group that he organised the meeting.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Inga Ruginien\u0117 reacted coolly to reports of the meeting, saying she does not monitor such contacts.<\/p>\n

The leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party, Mindaugas Sinkevi\u010dius<\/b>, said coalition leaders had not been informed about the meeting, though foreign guests are free to meet whomever they choose.<\/p>\n

“Apparently, the envoy has the opportunity to meet a wide range of politicians, including such leaders or representatives of alternative politics within the ruling majority,”<\/i> he said.<\/p>\n

Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus\u0117da<\/b> also commented<\/a> on the meeting, saying the current US administration appears to be seeking political forces or figures it considers ideologically close.<\/p>\n

“I believe that before meeting such individuals, one should carefully examine whom they represent and what values they uphold. Then perhaps the desire to meet would diminish,”<\/i> he said.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that Ignas V\u0117g\u0117l\u0117 ran in Lithuania\u2019s 2024 presidential election, finishing third. During the campaign, he said he would prefer Belarus to remain a non-democratic state serving as a buffer with Russia. He also opposed the presence of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Vilnius. During the campaign, a journalistic investigation also raised suspicions that his family business may have been involved in circumventing sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US President\u2019s Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale met in Vilnius not only with Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginien\u0117 ahead of his visit to Minsk. He also held talks with three Lithuanian politicians: Seimas members Rimas Jank\u016bnas and Ignas V\u0117g\u0117l\u0117, as well as Member of the European Parliament Petras Gra\u017eulis. Participants confirmed the meeting to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":526899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69bbeabfb644b.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Lithuanian MPs Met Coale in Vilnius Ahead of Minsk Visit, Discussing Fertilisers, Trucks, and Diplomacy"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338,143090],"tags":[143118],"class_list":["post-526900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news","category-politics","tag-belarus"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}