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Belarus’ decision to divert cargoes to Russian seaports is no surprise, Lithuanian minister says

 

Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s announcement that Belarus will divert most of its cargoes from Lithuanian and Latvian seaports to seaports in Russia’s Leningrad province did not come as a surprise to Vilnius, Lithuanian Transport Minister Eligijus Masiulis told the BNS news agency.

Recently, there have been “more and more signs” suggesting that Russia has a growing influence on the major Belarusian exporters that transport their goods to customers abroad via Baltic countries’ seaports, Mr. Masiulis said. “Russia has put forward certain terms in exchange for assistance to Belarus, and Belarus has no other option,” he was quoted as saying.

The Lithuanian minister predicted that seaports in the Leningrad province would not be capable of handling the entire volume of Belarusian cargoes because of a lack of infrastructure.

Seaports in Baltic countries still offer Belarusian exporters more attractive terms as far as it concerns the cost, speed and quality of cargo transportation, Mr. Masiulis said.

The minister said that Lithuania’s Klaipeda seaport would not be hit as much hard by a decrease in Belarusian cargoes as Latvian seaports.

Meanwhile, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that Mr. Lukashenka’s announcement should not be overestimated. “If we take a closer look, we can see how partners and cargo volumes change, that’s why I don’t think that we must overestimate the issue,” he said at a meeting with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts in Vilnius on November 9.

The ministers expressed hope that there were economic rather than political motives behind Belarus’ decision.

Mr. Lukashenka made the announcement at a meeting with Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the province, in Minsk on November 9.

"We discussed this matter very seriously at the most recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the government’s news agency BelTA quoted Mr. Lukashenka as saying.

He said that Minsk had made a decision to divert potash fertilizer shipments to Russian seaports. "The Russian president backed this initiative unambiguously. We must reach agreement with the railroad operators of Belarus and Russia and implement the agreements as soon as possible," he said. // BelaPAN