Belarus responded harshly to Lithuania's closure of the border: Vilnius should think about it

The movement of trucks, tractors and trailers (semi-trailers) registered in Lithuania is limited to the Belarusian-Lithuanian section of the border. The corresponding resolution was adopted by the Government of Belarus on October 31.

"This measure is a forced response to the unilateral actions of the Lithuanian side, which has repeatedly closed checkpoints on the Belarusian-Lithuanian section of the State Border without prior notification. The adopted decision is designed to protect the interests of Belarusian and other bona fide carriers. After the closure of the border with Lithuania and their massive reorientation to the Belarusian-Polish and Belarusian-Latvian directions, serious congestion has arisen in these areas," the statement of the Belarusian Cabinet of Ministers reads.

According to the ban, which has already entered into force, the following vehicles cannot now move through the territory of Belarus: trucks and tractors registered in the member states of the European Union; trailers (semi—trailers) registered in Poland and Lithuania; passenger cars registered in Poland and carrying out international transportation in accordance with individual waybills or international waybills "CMR".

"Violation by drivers of the ban is recognized as the implementation of international road transportation on the territory of Belarus without permission to carry out such transportation and entails liability in accordance with the legislation on administrative offenses," the resolution says.

All vehicles that fall under the ban and are now on the territory of Belarus must move to places specially designated by the Council of Ministers, listed in the resolution. At the same time, the ban does not apply if the vehicle carries certain categories of goods, including postal items, humanitarian goods, live animals, medical products, raw materials for the production of veterinary medicines, blood, human organs and tissues, and others.

It is noted that "the introduced measure is proportionate, justified and aimed at protecting bona fide participants in foreign economic activity from the consequences of unilateral decisions of the Lithuanian authorities."

On October 29, Lithuania decided to close the border with Belarus for a month. The Lithuanian association LINAVA initially announced 100 Lithuanian trucks stuck in the republic, but later adjusted the figure to 1,500 trucks owned by Lithuanian companies, as well as other countries. EU and Central Asia. According to the latest data, after Lithuania closed the border on the territory of Belarus, almost 5 thousand units of Lithuanian tractors and trailers were blocked in the country, which will be able to leave the Belarusian territory only after the border was opened by the Lithuanian authorities.