{"id":179710,"date":"2026-03-17T13:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/179710\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:16:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:16:52","slug":"belarus-pm-meets-with-lithuanian-polish-carriers-amid-stranded-trucks-crisis","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/179710\/","title":{"rendered":"No solution to stranded trucks crisis reported after Belarus\u2019 PM meets with Lithuanian, Polish executives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Belarusian government's press office)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

March 17, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Belarusian Prime Minister Alaksandar Tur\u010dyn has met with executives of Lithuanian and Polish transport companies in Minsk in an effort to resolve the crisis of stranded foreign-registered trucks in Belarus, the Council of Ministers\u2019 press office reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForeign carriers have effectively been left to fend for themselves by their own governments,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cDue to politically-motivated decisions by their authorities, including transit restrictions and the closure of border crossing points, around 1,000 trucks with Lithuanian registration have been blocked and deprived of the ability to operate fully on their usual routes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truckers reportedly requested assistance from Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka to resolve the situation with blocked Lithuanian-registered vehicles, who instructed the prime minister to meet with the carriers and hear their concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the meeting, Tur\u010dyn said Minsk has been proposing talks with Lithuania for four months and blamed Vilnius for ignoring these requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official added that the Belarusian side could confiscate the vehicles, but has no intention of doing so. However, he noted that the costs incurred by the Belarusian private company that has been safeguarding the vehicles at the designated parking lots \u201cmust be compensated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius is considering response measures against Minsk since \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s regime has refused to release Lithuanian trucks stranded in Belarus since last fall, Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk barred Lithuanian trucks from leaving the country after Vilnius closed the Medininkai\u2013Kamienny \u0141oh and \u0160al\u010dininkai\u2013Bieniakoni border checkpoints for three weeks in late October and November 2025, following incursions by air balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes from Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus pushed for consultations between the two countries\u2019 foreign ministries, while Lithuania rejected direct diplomatic talks, having significantly downgraded official contacts after what it described as Belarus\u2019 rigged 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius views the political negotiations with Minsk as an attempt to break the international isolation of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s regime and potentially pave the way for easing sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, LINAVA, the Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association, sent an official complaint to the European Commission regarding Lithuanian trucks stranded in Belarus. Minsk still reportedly holds 496 trucks and 575 semi-trailers belonging to 149 Lithuanian transport companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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