July 27, Pozirk. Franak Viačorka, an aide to Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, has met with Estonian officials to discuss easing recent restrictions on the entry of Belarus-registered vehicles, Cichanoŭskaja’s press office reported.
Vital Małčanaŭ, representing Belarusian pro-democracy forces in Estonia and Latvia, accompanied him at the meetings with Estonia’s MPs and officials of the foreign and interior ministries.
Viačorka said that the new restrictions affected ordinary Belarusians and called for tighter sanctions against Alaksandar Łukašenka and his officials.
“We agreed on several exceptions for the entry of Belarusian cars, primarily for humanitarian reasons,” he said.
The Belarusian delegation also stressed the need to close the loopholes in the European Union’s sanctions, noting that the Belarusian authorities are looking for new opportunities to continue trade.
Lithuania announced the ban on entry of all Belarus-registered passenger cars regardless of the nationality of their owner or driver on July 17, one day before it entered into force.
Vilnius cited the European Union Council regulation 2024/1865 of June 29, noting that the move was coordinated with Latvia and Estonia which used the same regulation to ban entry of vehicles with Belarusian license plates.
