“United States (US) Special Envoy to Belarus John Coale
urges Lithuania to hold a bilateral political meeting with Belarus, restore
fertilizer transit.
“Yes, I think it should. You need to sit down and talk. If
that doesn’t work, then you stand up and leave. But I think now – I hope – that
Lithuania agrees to a bilateral dialogue at the level of deputy foreign
ministers. We need to stop those things that hinder life on both sides,” J.
Coale said in an interview published on Friday with the national broadcaster
LRT; BNS quotes him as saying.
He also noted that if the transit of Belarusian fertilizers
through Lithuania were restored, it would be beneficial for Washington.
“Yes. I spoke with Brooke Rollins, she is the United States
Secretary of Agriculture, we talked about it, and she said that it would be
very beneficial for the United States if we received fertilizers as well,” the
US envoy said.
“Potassium fertilizers from Belarus should travel through
Lithuania, and this would open up Europe for them – all the way to the United
States,” the official said.
Following the US envoy’s meeting with A. Lukashenko last
week, the US lifted all remaining sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilizer
producers Belaruskalij, Belarusian Potash Company and Agrorozkvit, and also
eased sanctions on the Belarusian financial sector.
For her part, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said in an
interview with the news portal Lrytas this week that no one had asked Lithuania
to discuss the transit of Belarusian fertilizers.
Coale also said he had spoken with Belarus’ authoritarian
President Alexander Lukashenko “many times” about the smuggling balloon flights
to Lithuania. The US envoy testified that he had heard Lukashenko promise that
it would stop.
“And it stopped. It didn’t happen anymore, and the
Lithuanians admit that it didn’t happen anymore. Every now and then a balloon
or two still flies, but not like before. So now it’s a manageable situation,
unlike before,” the official said.
Coale also said he had urged the Belarusian leader to return
the trucks to Lithuania.
"And he did it. Initially, there was talk of large sums
of money for each truck that would be released, but he significantly reduced
that amount, so I think this problem has also been resolved," the US envoy
said.
President Gitanas Nausėda previously said that he had
received a question from the US special envoy to Belarus, J. Coale, about the
possibilities of political dialogue with Minsk. However, the head of state
assured that he had warned the US representative to be cautious about the
regime's speeches.
G. Nausėda does not see signals from Minsk for dialogue
The head of state Gitanas Nausėda says that a dialogue with
Belarus can be established only if Minsk demonstrates a desire to foster
neighborly relations, but currently such signals are not visible from their
side.
"Dialogues, opportunities arise when the other side
demonstrates a good will to foster, as much as possible, neighborly
relations," G. Nausėda said in a video shared by the Presidential Palace
on Friday.
“And if for a certain period of time we see that the
situation is stable and that the Belarusian regime does not pose any direct
threats to Lithuania, contacts and dialogue at a certain level are possible,”
he said.
G. Nausėda emphasized that the issue of sanctions on
fertilizers is being resolved at the EU level.
“And they were introduced much earlier and are associated
not so much with the current hybrid attacks, but with human rights violations,
with the illegal presidential elections in 2020 and, without a doubt, with the
real de facto participation of Belarus in Russia’s war of aggression against
Ukraine,” the president emphasized.
According to the head of state, it is difficult to assess
Belarus’ decision to release the Lithuanian trucks as a sign of goodwill, since
they were first illegally stopped by Minsk.
At the same time, balloons, although less frequently,
continue to enter the country’s airspace.
"Unfortunately, it was not possible to resolve (the
balloon problem – BNS) and I would even say that this is being demonstrated in
such a demonstrative manner, after the special representative had just left the
territory of Belarus," said G. Nausėda.
"In Belarus, under such a regime, one should be very
bold in carrying out activities of this kind, if you know that the authorities
are categorically opposed to it. If this continues despite everything, it means
that there are quite a few signals that the authorities not only do not oppose
it, but even encourage it in a certain way," he said.
Prime Minister: Meeting to be discussed, no mention of
fertilizers
Prime Minister I. Ruginienė told the LRT news portal on
Friday that Lithuania will consider the proposal of US envoy for Belarus J.
Coale to meet with Belarus at the level of vice ministers, but, according to
her, there are several conditions for this.
Prime Minister notes that she did not discuss the transit of
Belarusian fertilizers with the US envoy – there are no conditions for this, as
European Union (EU) sanctions are currently in force.
“The transit of fertilizers through Lithuania was never
discussed with the US envoy at any level. We talked about balloons, about the
release of trucks, illegal migration – we definitely talked about this, because
these are our conditions for Belarus to meet at the level of vice ministers,”
I. Ruginienė told the LRT portal.
According to her, Lithuania is setting the following
conditions for Belarus: meteorological balloons used for smuggling must not fly
across the border, all trucks must be returned without any additional taxes or
financial penalties, and Belarus should also not allow illegal migrants across
the border.
“We are talking only about a technical meeting intended to
exchange positions. That meeting can take place after the conditions are met,”
says the Prime Minister.
“There will be technical talks, time will tell about
political ones”
Juozas Olekas, the Speaker of the Seimas, says that talks
with Minsk are possible at a technical level, and the possibility of
communication for higher-ranking officials would depend on the progress of the
negotiations, BNS reports.
“It seems that there will be such technical, official talks,
because if we want to resolve the issue, we probably won’t avoid contacts
anyway, there is no other way. But, as I said, there must be mutual
understanding first, not one-sided concessions when the other side remains in
such an aggressive position. These technical talks, I think, should take
place,” the head of parliament told reporters on Friday.
Asked whether meetings could also take place at a higher
level, for example, at the level of deputy ministers, as J. Coale had said, J.
Olekas said that this would depend on the progress of the talks with Minsk.
"If further progress is achieved, then perhaps other
things will also appear. Here we are not so stubborn that nothing will happen.
We need progress, we have very clear goals set and that is what we are striving
for," he said.
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, Lithuania is
determined to "have good neighborly relations, but there are conditions
that should be fulfilled."
"We are talking about ending Russian aggression, ending
Belarusian support for this Russian aggression. We are talking about releasing
all political prisoners. Those conditions remain. And to talk about how to
convince the regime to fulfill those conditions, we are also using that
American channel here," he said.
According to J. Olekas, although some political prisoners
were released after J. Coale's visits to Minsk, that is not enough for
higher-level contacts with Belarus.
The Speaker of the Seimas stated that there is no talk of
the Lithuanian ambassador returning to Minsk.
MFA does not comment on calls, emphasizes existing EU
sanctions
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) does not comment on
calls by the US Special Envoy for Belarus J. Coale for Vilnius to hold a
vice-ministerial meeting with Minsk in order to restore fertilizer transit,
emphasizing the existing EU sanctions on this transit.
“Lithuania consistently adheres to the positions agreed at
the EU level on political relations with Belarus and the sanctions applied to
it, which are approved in the conclusions of the EEC (European Council – BNS)
and the EU Council,” the ministry told BNS.
It noted that on February 26, the Community extended
sanctions against Belarus, including on Belarusian fertilizers, for another
year.
“None of the reasons why the EU began to impose sanctions on
Belarus in the summer of 2020 have disappeared. Lithuania appreciates the US
efforts to stop the hybrid attacks carried out by the Belarusian regime against
Lithuania and the economic pressure measures applied against our country and EU
companies, which, unfortunately, are still ongoing,” the MFA stated.
“The US understands that Lithuania cannot unilaterally lift
sanctions on Belarus”
Remigijus Motuzas, Chairman of the Seimas Foreign Affairs
Committee (URK), says that the US administration understands that Lithuania
cannot unilaterally lift sanctions on Belarus.
“If Lithuania wanted to waive or loosen sanctions at this
stage, it would not be able to do so. There can be no unilateral decision. The
United States knows that,” the politician told journalists on Friday; BNS
quotes him as saying.
According to R. Motuzas, the key point in this case is the
common position of EU members. The Community on February 26 extended sanctions
against Belarus for another year, including on Belarusian fertilizers.
“Lithuania continues to adhere to a consistent position,
that is, a sanctions policy, because you know that we, together with other EU
countries, extended sanctions. We adhere to such a position,” the politician
said.
He also assured that currently no negotiations are taking
place either on the transportation of fertilizers or on high-level political
meetings with the US.”
It's clear that nothing has been happening under von der Leyen's skirt for a long time, after all, she is as old as death.
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