🇱🇹 Lithuania Ready to Let Stranded Trucks Return via Šalčininkai Crossing
Lithuania’s Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič said Vilnius is prepared to allow hundreds of Lithuanian trucks stranded in Belarus to re-enter the country through the Šalčininkai border checkpoint, following Minsk’s recent decision to ban Lithuanian carriers from transiting Belarus.
“A large group of vehicles — about 500 trucks — is currently gathered near the Šalčininkai terminal. We believe we can start letting them through this checkpoint, as they cannot go elsewhere,” Kondratovič told Žinių radijas on Thursday.
The ministry plans to notify Belarusian authorities through border liaison officers that Šalčininkai could be used as a controlled re-entry point for those specific vehicles stuck in the neutral zone.
“If we reach an understanding that only those trucks physically located in the neutral area will be allowed to pass, we will proceed accordingly,” the minister added.
Context:
The move follows Belarus’s unilateral restriction on Lithuanian freight transit announced earlier this week — a retaliatory step in the ongoing diplomatic standoff between the two neighbors. Roughly 500 Lithuanian trucks remain immobilized on the Belarusian side, unable to reroute through Poland or Latvia. The Šalčininkai crossing, Lithuania’s southernmost checkpoint, has become the key focus for managing the crisis.
The incident underscores regional transport fragility amid tightening border politics in the Baltic–Belarus corridor.
Source: ELTA / DELFI.lt / Žinių radijas
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