Lukashenko Has Been Given Three Days

On Friday, everything magically changed.

On the night of March 23-24, the first Lithuanian trucks, which the Belarusian authorities had taken hostage in response to Lithuania's blocking the border in October last year, left Belarus. The border was opened in November, but the problem was not solved. In exchange for the release of the trucks, Minsk sought negotiations at the highest diplomatic level from Lithuania.

But last Friday everything magically changed.

Three days to think

"I have to make this decision by Monday. There's no need to procrastinate, I don't want there to be red tape or bureaucracy. I will make a decision and, I think, from Monday we will start the process of returning these trucks. We will return these trucks," Lukashenko told his reporters the day after talks with Trump's special envoy John Cole.

Why the decision must be made by Monday, and who gave Lukashenko three days, of course, he did not specify. But in any case, it turned out that this unsolvable problem can be solved in the shortest possible time. The main thing is to have the right incentives. And indeed, on Monday the State Customs Committee reported that Lithuanian trucks can leave Belarus.

Belarusian customs officers are ready to work hard for the well-being of Lithuanian carriers. The State Customs Committee has sent proposals to their Lithuanian colleagues to work more intensively at checkpoints until all the trucks are free.

"We are ready to let as many trucks as the neighboring country will accept," said the head of the Customs Committee Vladimir Orlovsky.

But not for free. First, one has to pay for Belarusian hospitality. But if the original amount of redemption was set at the rate of 120 euros per car per day, then after negotiations with Cole, the Belarusian authorities agreed to reduce it several times.

"They ask to reduce the prices for parking lots. We realize that if we charge them this price, they won't take half of these cars, because the price will be higher than they bought. We will probably set a European price for them. As they have a small customs price. If you've paid these kopecks for parking, take them away," explained Lukashenko.

But it was not kopecks that had to be paid after all. The new ransom amount was set at the rate of 40 euros per truck and trailer per day. And it's actually still higher than the parking fee in European countries or the standard rate in Belarus. According to the drivers of the first trucks that entered Lithuania, they had to pay more than six thousand euros for four months of downtime in Belarus.News of Belarus

It's clear

And this is what is important to understand about the Belarusian authorities. Negotiations at the highest diplomatic level didn't work out? Couldn't get a full ransom? Well, we'll still cheat a little bit, a little bit, raise the rate a little bit, no one will check it anyway, and we'll still get an extra penny.

Although it's really pennies on the scale of the state. According to the SCC, there were 1900 trucks, trailers and semi-trailers on the territory of Belarus. Of these trucks - one thousand one hundred. That is, as a result of the whole scam with the Lithuanian trucks taken hostage, Belarus will get something around €7 million. These are all the bonuses that we will get for spoiled relations with our neighbors.

Although we could have taken the opportunity to try to normalize relations. Well, since you still have not achieved anything, since the trucks had to let go anyway, so make a gesture of goodwill. At least give some kind of discount, instead of hiking up the price.

Not to mention that as part of a goodwill gesture they should have been released for free. Because who owes whom is a big question. In fact, Lithuanian carriers may demand compensation from Belarus for the fact that their trucks have been standing here for four months simply because someone suddenly wanted it.

And by the way, some of them may still file a complaint when the trucks are at a safe distance from the Belarusian authorities. In any case, the Prime Minister of Lithuania has already said that Belarus should pay compensation. That is, Lithuania does not appreciate Alexander Lukashenko's decision and does not consider it a goodwill gesture.

"In our opinion, these trucks were illegally detained and left on the territory of Belarus, and now we are talking about payment. If there had been good will and normal relations, they would have been simply released," Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Lithuanian Seimas Remigijus Motuzas

It's clear that as long as there are probes with smuggling, illegal migrants breaking through the border, it's hard to talk about radical improvement of relations. But it was possible to take the first step. We could make a minimum of effort. To begin with, step on the throat of your own greed. Especially if you want your potash fertilizers to be allowed into the port of Klaipeda again.

Alexei Mazartov, "Belarusians and the market".

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