Lithuania Refused to Transport Potentially Sanctioned Goods Due to the Belaruskali Situation

Even cargo from Russia and Kazakhstan was blocked.

Lithuanian Railways (LTG) has rejected applications from a number of freight forwarders to transport goods from Russia and Kazakhstan, BNS reports citing Tomas Keršis, the head of the Lithuanian Private Railway Companies Association. According to him, the refusals affected fertilizers and oil products.

Moreover, the LTG decided to interpret the sanctions in such a way that they also affect goods passing through Belarus. Keršis stressed that private Lithuanian railway companies do not plan to deal with Belaruskali.

The LTG spokesperson Mantas Dubauskas acknowledged that such facts had taken place, but applications are already being satisfied after receiving an explanation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“There was a situation when there was an unclear interpretation of the EU sanctions and applications for the transportation of petroleum products through Belarus were approved not by us, but by Belarusians. We have received clarifications from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and these statements are already being coordinated,” he said.

According to Keršis, there are no more opportunities to reach Lithuania in February for the cargoes, applications for which were not agreed upon earlier, due to the railroading peculiarities.