The Lithuanian minister answered Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who blamed the Lithuanian side of not cooperating.
According to Rokas Masiulis, the Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania, it is unprofitable for Belarusians to send cargo via Latvia.
“From the economic point of view, Belarusians have no reason to change anything. We invest a lot, improve conditions in our port. We understand quite well the current freight flows, and we try to serve them so that [the Belarusians] do not have the desire to go the other way. We believe that our conditions are the best and this is very much appreciated, we work a lot on this,” said Masiulis.
The minister added that the port of Klaipeda invests a lot and creates good conditions for transshipment of client cargo.
“We have all the equipment, approved railway schedules. The trains run without stops, in the best possible way, and this is the cheapest way for [the Belarusians],” Masiulis added.
On September 18, when appointing a new ambassador to Latvia, Alyaksandr Lukashenka set him the task of ensuring “unhindered, regular access to the sea” for Belarus.
“We don’t have access to the sea, and if Lithuania doesn’t really want to cooperate with us, it’s necessary to focus on Latvia,” Lukashenka said. – We need to make sure that this republic gets pleasure from cooperation with Belarus. We are decent, responsible people, they know it. If they meet us on many issues that we offer them, they will have a certain (and considerable) effect. ”
The competition between Lithuanian and Latvian ports has always been strong. After the reduced supply of Russian goods, it grew even more. The port of Klaipeda is used to transit Belarusian fertilizers and oil products.
