US pushing Lithuania to allow Belarus fertiliser exports, FM says

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has stated that the United States is pressuring his country to allow the transit of Belarusian fertilisers through its territory.

He made these remarks during a closed-door meeting with the Social Democratic faction, Caliber.Az reports, citing Lithuanian media.

Several Social Democrats who attended the meeting confirmed the information on condition of anonymity, stating that Budrys explicitly used the term “pressure.”

Sources said the pressure is not limited to Lithuania but is also being exerted on other regional countries that could serve as transit corridors, although Lithuania is seen as the most viable route for Belarusian fertilisers to reach the Baltic Sea.

Budrys reportedly told MPs that Washington had previously examined possible arrangements for transporting the fertilisers.

Among the options discussed was a scheme in which a US company would purchase the products from Belaruskali and rebrand them as American goods.

Another proposal reportedly considered shipment under humanitarian exemptions.

However, Lithuanian officials stressed that such transit would be constrained by European Union sanctions, which were extended for another year in February.

Lithuania halted the transit of Belarusian potash fertilisers in 2022, following U.S. sanctions imposed in 2021 on Belaruskali over human rights violations and political repression in Belarus.

Officials noted that some US sanctions were eased this year after Belarus released several political prisoners.

Budrys also warned that Minsk could attempt to use shifting US policy to increase pressure on Lithuania.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov