{"id":183045,"date":"2026-04-10T11:09:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/183045\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:16:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T09:16:58","slug":"customs-chief-1300-stranded-trucks-leave-belarus-after-paying-parking-fees","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/183045\/","title":{"rendered":"Customs chief: 1,300 stranded trucks leave Belarus after paying parking fees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 10, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>A total of 1,300 trucks returned to Lithuania and Poland, with 100 vehicles awaiting entry into Lithuania after paying parking fees in Belarus, U\u0142adzimir Ar\u0142o\u016dski, chairman of the Belarusian State Customs Committee, told the state-run news.by<\/em> yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, just over 500 vehicles belonging to Lithuanian carriers and stranded in Belarus since last fall remain in the country, the official noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lithuanian authorities threaten carriers who pay the parking fees in Belarus with fines, citing alleged violation of sanctions against Belarus, Ar\u0142o\u016dski claimed. He also blamed the Lithuanian side for the slow processing of returning vehicles at the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of\u00a0foreign-registered trucks, mostly from Lithuania, have been stranded in Belarus since last fall. Minsk barred the trucks from leaving the country after Vilnius closed two 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 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

Minsk\u2019s holding hundreds of foreign-registered trucks in the country since November is unacceptable and unjustified, the European Commission responded to a complaint by LINAVA, the Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association, that cited significant property damage caused by Minsk\u2019s refusal to release the vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka announced the release of Lithuanian trucks on March 20, one day after his talks with John Coale, US special envoy for Belarus, who negotiated the release of 250 jailed Belarusian dissidents and raised Lithuania\u2019s \u200cconcerns over stranded trucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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