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Minsk not releasing stranded Lithuanian trucks
November 21, Pozirk. Although Lithuania met Minsk’s demand to reopen border checkpoints, more than a thousand Lithuanian trucks remain stranded in Belarus.
By the morning of November 21, not a single Lithuanian truck had returned to Lithuania, LRT reported, quoting Giedrius Mišutis, spokesman for the State Border Protection Service.
The Medininkai–Kamienny Łoh and Šalčininkai–Bieniakoni border crossings resumed full operations at midnight on November 20 (1 a.m. Minsk time).
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda urged the public not to dramatize the situation. “Probably, it is not a deliberate attempt to keep them; maybe this is an attempt to demonstrate a certain negotiating position,” he told LRT.
Mišutis noted that while several trucks entered Belarus from Lithuania after the reopening, none of the Lithuania-registered vehicles stranded inside Belarus had been allowed to cross back.
On November 20, Minsk proposed holding consultations between the Belarusian and Lithuanian foreign ministries to create a mechanism ensuring stable border-crossing procedures and preventing future closures.
In late October 2024, Lithuania announced the temporary closure of all border crossings with Belarus from October 29 to November 30, citing repeated airspace violations by balloons launched from Belarusian territory to smuggle cigarettes.
Before Lithuania reopened the checkpoints, at least 1,265 Lithuania-registered trucks were already stuck in Belarus. Minsk barred these cargo vehicles from leaving the country and ordered them moved to guarded parking sites. Vilnius, in turn, accused Belarus of escalation by seizing the vehicles and preventing their return.
Belarus’ foreign ministry offers consultations to Vilnius
November 20, Pozirk. Minsk has proposed holding consultations between the Belarusian and Lithuanian foreign ministries to develop a mechanism that would ensure stable border-crossing operations and prevent future closures, Rusłan Varankoŭ, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign office, said on November …
