Not a single truck with Lithuanian plates has left Belarus after the opening of two border crossings on the night of 20 November, said a representative of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service Giedrius Misutis, quoted by public broadcaster LRT.
“It’s not clear why they don’t pass through there. Cars are going, lorries are going with plates of other countries – mainly, of course, from Russia, where drivers have simplified documents. The work of the points is absolutely normal, and they could pass other vehicles, especially more trucks, but Lithuanian ones are not coming,” he said.
Lithuania has closed the border with Belarus since 27 October and initially said it plans to keep it closed until at least early December. The ban was imposed in response to dozens of weather probes carrying smuggled cigarettes that flew from Belarus. In response, the Belarusian authorities banned the movement of lorries, tractors and trailers registered in Poland and Lithuania, as well as cars registered in Poland.
From that moment on, the Belarusian authorities prevented all these trucks from leaving the country and sent them “under guard” to car parks near the border. On 20 November, border agencies of the two countries reported that the border crossings of Medniki (Kamenny Loh) and Solechniki (Beniakoni) resumed their work at midnight.
Chairman of the Lithuanian National Association of Cargo Carriers Linava Erlandas Mikenas said that, according to his information, Belarus did not let lorries with Lithuanian plates out of the car parks and demanded a meeting of representatives of the foreign ministries of Lithuania and Belarus. Later, he said that there was a possibility that something might “move” after another shift at the Belarusian border checkpoints.