Lithuanian President has no plans to allow transit of fertilizers from Belarus after US sanctions are eased

Lithuania plans to maintain a “firm position” if pressured to resume transit of Belarusian fertilizers, President Gitanas Nauseda said in an interview with the Baltic news agency BNS.

Asked whether Lithuania could resume transit in exchange for an increase in the US military contingent in the country or on the condition that the profits go directly to the defense budget, Nauseda said he was not ready for this.

“For me, value policy is not an empty concept or an empty word. Therefore, trading in values ​​is absolutely unacceptable for me,” the Lithuanian president stressed.

According to him, any suggestions that Vilnius could “sell something in exchange for a more flexible position on the issue of Belarusian fertilizers” are fundamentally unacceptable. Nauseda stressed that this position also reflects the policy of the European Union.

The Lithuanian President called himself “one of the most active supporters of sanctions against Belarusian fertilizers in all formats – in the European Council and elsewhere.”

“I am currently discussing this with the leaders of neighboring countries – both the Polish Prime Minister and the Latvian Prime Minister. Yesterday we spoke about this with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. I asked his opinion and how events could develop further. In any case, Lithuania’s position remains very firm,” he said.

Merz, according to Nauseda, understands Lithuania’s position and the appropriateness of the sanctions applied to Belarus, and “has always supported them.”

Nauseda expressed hope that during negotiations with partners it will be possible to form “a very strong coalition that will say a clear ‘no’ to the export of Belarusian fertilizers through Lithuanian ports.”

Lithuania has suspended the transit of Belarusian potash fertilizers since February 1, 2022, after the US imposed sanctions on the largest Belarusian potash fertilizer producer, Beloruskali.

On December 13, 2025, following talks in Minsk between the US President’s Special Representative for Belarus John Cole and the leader of the Belarusian regime, Alexander Lukashenko, 123 political prisoners were released and deported from the country. The American diplomat stated that the US, at the direction of President Donald Trump, is lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilizers.

On December 15, the Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department published a general license allowing cooperation with Beloruskali and the Belarusian Potash Company (BPC). On December 30, Nauseda denied reports that the US, after lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilizers, was pressuring Lithuania to allow the transit of these products with subsequent shipment at the port of Klaipeda.

Tags: Belarus, fertilizers, restrictions, sanctions