The Lithuanian government has decided to close the border with Belarus. Currently – until November 30, but the traffic blockade could be extended. Business is rapidly shifting its logistics towards Poland and Latvia. But even there, the situation at checkpoints is tense. What is the current situation on the Lithuanian border, MIR 24 correspondent Andrey Zrazhevsky will tell you.
“Shalchininkai is completely closed. “Medininkai, from the Belarusian side “Kamenny Log, in part. Barriers have been raised only for a select few: diplomats, EU citizens or those with residence permits and in special cases. They will be considered individually by border authorities. Dozens of heavy trucks have been stranded as a result of Vilnius's decision. Many of them contain products that are about to expire. Customs Belarus said about one and a half thousand trucks.
Heavy trucks from Belarus and Russia are lining up. Less often in Europe. Quite astonishing – trucks from Uzbekistan have been at the border for 25 days. The drivers admitted: they had long spent their travel allowance, along with the breakfast provided by the Lithuanian authorities.
Lithuania stopped allowing cars to pass on October 27. First of all, this restriction affects ordinary people.
“I'm going home to Kaliningrad. We have transit visas so we have to leave Lithuania within 24 hours. “I've been in Russia for four days. Here I am coming back to myself. I live in Vilnius. And now I can't go back. I asked people to put me in the car because I couldn't cross the border on foot. Buses are not running, all flights are canceled, “They came back to me. They said, go through Latvia or through Poland, drivers and passengers said.
Truck convoys were diverted toward Poland and Latvia. A day earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the country could open two more checkpoints as early as November. There is still confusion at the border.
“The decision for which citizens of different countries have been waiting for more than three days and thought that it would be positive and that the passage to the Lithuanian side would be carried out did not happen. It was an unfriendly and unfriendly action of the Lithuanian authorities.
“There is a persistent feeling of deja vu,” the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the traffic blockade. They believe that Lithuania is using tactics to escalate tensions at the border in order to receive financial aid from the European Union.
“Poland has been allocated a loan of more than 43 billion euros for defense needs. Now, amid heated discussions about creating some kind of “drone wall”, also with a budget of billions of dollars, Lithuania is taking similar steps, closing its border with Belarus.
Meanwhile, airlines are canceling flights to Vilnius, Kaunas and Riga. Passengers were promised a refund. But what will happen to heavy truck drivers remains an open question. By the way, every day trucks are out of service costs European businesses no less than 300 euros.
Lithuanian authorities cited balloons carrying contraband as the reason for closing the border. They are believed to have flown from the direction of Belarus. The European country is conducting a preliminary investigation into the matter.