Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene on January 29 dismissed speculation that the United States had urged Lithuania to resume the transit of Belarusian potash fertilisers, saying the issue was being unnecessarily escalated.
“We are escalating many issues that perhaps do not need to be escalated at all. One of them is the transit of fertilisers from Belarus,” Ruginiene told a program on lrytas.lt.
“This issue has never been raised or discussed, either behind the scenes or in the international arena. In my work and cooperation with Americans, we have discussed many topics, but we have never, ever talked about fertiliser transit. There has been no request from them,” she added.
Ruginiene also noted that US officials had not raised the issue last December, when Washington lifted sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilisers in exchange for the release of prisoners held in Belarus. The move sparked speculation among political observers that the US might pressure Lithuania to allow transit through the port of Klaipeda. (LRT)