During a meeting with Tatiana Molchan, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta
mentioned
the European Commission’s attempts to intervene in the situation of the Lithuanian-Belarusian conflict involving trucks detained in Belarus.
Павялічыць
Illustrative photo. Photo: “Nasha Niva”
Sekreta drew attention to what he described as unlawful attempts by the European Commission to intervene in bilateral issues between Belarus and Lithuania concerning the situation with Lithuanian trucks that have been on Belarusian territory since last October.
He also emphasized the need for “depoliticized” execution of the UNECE’s mission in economic development and enhancing the region’s transport connectivity. He suggested that the European Commission is not fulfilling its obligations under the European agreement regulating the work of vehicle crews in international road transport.
The crisis on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border arose after Belarus used contraband balloons to violate Lithuanian airspace for several months. In response, the Lithuanian government closed the Medininkai and Šalčininkai checkpoints at the end of last October. After this, the Lukashenka regime banned Lithuanian trucks from traveling through the country, forcing many vehicles to stay in designated areas for a fee. The situation did not resolve even after the Lithuanian government reopened the border, without waiting for the initially scheduled month-long period to end.