Lithuanian Railway has officially informed Belaruskali about the decision of the Lithuanian government to recognize the contract concluded by the companies as invalid as of February 1.
“Starting from February 1, we will stop providing services to Belaruskali under the contract concluded in 2018,” said the Lithuanian company.
At the same time, the railroad management does not exclude that there may be applications from other freight carriers and intermediary firms for the transit of Belarusian potash.
“The LTG Cargo railroad company will consult with state authorities about them,” said Egidijus Lazauskas, general director of LTG Cargo.
Lithuanian Railways considers “further steps to create a reliable legal way to stop the transit of fertilizers through Lithuania” necessary completely.
The head of the Committee of National Security and Defense of the Seimas of Lithuania, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, said on air of the Belsat TV that there’s almost zero chance of circumventing the ban on the transit of Belarusian fertilizers in Lithuania because any company (including private ones) would have to first apply to the parliamentary commission for permission. In contrast, the Commission considers such a transit threat to national security.
Kasčiūnas confirmed that the head of Lithuanian Railways lost his position precisely because the contract with Belaruskali failed to come before the parliamentary commission.
