MINSK, 17 March (BelTA) – Lithuanian and Polish carriers expressed hope that the issue regarding Lithuanian-registered trucks will be resolved in a businesslike manner, satisfactory for all parties as they talked to journalists following a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin on 17 March, BelTA has learned.
Lithuanian and Polish road carriers applied to the Belarusian president with a request to help resolve the situation with the Lithuanian-registered trucks. Foreign carriers have essentially been abandoned to the whims of fate by their own governments. Due to politically motivated decisions by their governments, including transit restrictions and the closure of border checkpoints, about 1,000 trucks with Lithuanian registration have found themselves blocked and deprived of the opportunity to work normally on their usual routes. The Belarusian president considered their request and, guided by humanitarian grounds, instructed the prime minister to meet with the carriers and listen to their position.
Lithuanian carriers had already turned to every authority in their country, but were unable to resolve the problem. “We are a group of concerned carriers from Lithuania. We know this problem firsthand, and we decided we have to do something, we must use every opportunity to get it resolved. We are not politicians, we are just businesspeople. We look at the numbers, we want to earn money, support our employees, create jobs. That is our priority, and that is what we are focused on,” Krzysztof Songin, head of the Lithuanian delegation and representative of the Sontransa company, said. “The vehicles have been in Belarus for four months now, so we decided to write a letter to the Belarusian president requesting that he review this situation. We had two requests: the return of our vehicles, which are currently at guarded lots, and a review of the financial burden on Lithuanian companies [referring to the compensation owed to the Belarusian side for the storage of the trucks].”
The Lithuanian carriers at the meeting have a large part of their fleet stranded in Belarus, ranging from 30% for some companies to as much as 90% for others. The companies are suffering substantial losses, and some of their employees have been forced to look for other work. According to them, they were promised neither insurance payouts nor compensation from the Lithuanian government, nor any assistance in resolving the truck issue. Their only hope is to address the matter directly with the Belarusian side. The appeal to the Belarusian president bears more than 70 signatures of Lithuanian carriers, and this is far from all those interested. The Lithuanians received a response to their appeal from the Belarusian side in just one week.
Regarding Poland, it is estimated that about 30% of carriers have incurred losses as a result of the situation with Lithuanian-registered trucks. Attempts by Polish carriers to contact various authorities in Poland and Lithuania also proved fruitless. Therefore, they prepared a separate appeal to the Belarusian president and, like the Lithuanians, also received an invitation to dialogue with the head of government. Carriers from Poland expressed gratitude for the opportunity to come to Minsk, for the time Aleksandr Turchin devoted to them, and for his willingness to discuss difficult topics. They expressed hope that all problems would be resolved and that cooperation would continue in a good-neighborly spirit. According to them, the prime minister created a very constructive atmosphere for the negotiations and listened to them attentively. The Polish carriers expect that all issues will be settled in a businesslike manner and hope to receive a response from the Belarusian side within a week – a response that will be satisfactory for all parties.
Photos by Sergei Sheleg/BelTA
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