OSHMYANY DISTRICT, 10 November (BelTA) – The absence of certainty and the closed border make up a peculiar “gift” ahead of New Year’s celebrations, BelTA learned from Bakhadyr Magumarov, a truck driver from Uzbekistan, at the Belarusian border crossing Kamenny Log (Medininkai on the Lithuanian side).
Bakhadyr Magumarov said: “There is no certainty. Tomorrow will mark literally one month since I joined the queue. We cannot cancel the shipment and the cargo is Lithuanian. It turns out we cannot go anywhere. We cannot go back home and we cannot enter Europe.”
“What kind of emotions should one feel after living in the truck for a month? In Spartan conditions. I have run out of everything. Not only food but also diesel fuel. The weather is still bearable but frost is about to come. There is no reason for joy. I feel angry. The closed border is a ‘gift’ from the Grandfather Frost,” the semi-truck driver added.
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement today, according to which the Lithuanian semi-trucks, which are concentrated in Belarus’ territory on approaches to the border crossings Kamenny Log and Benyakoni, will be moved to special parking lots in the vicinity of the Belarusian-Lithuanian border crossing Kotlovka for the sake of ensuring security and preservation.
According to Bakhadyr Magumarov, these measures will not affect him. “There is no news for us for now. But the colleagues have only suffering. Certainly, we hope things will get better. The situation costs us a lot. The sum is getting quite big. As for the idle time, we have no news. We are not getting paid for it 100%. We were told that right away. On the whole, there is nobody to blame,” the driver noted.
Belarus’ State Customs Committee stressed that as from 9:00 on 10 November the release of vehicles with Lithuanian vehicle registration plates from Belarusian border crossings in the direction of exiting the Republic of Belarus has been temporarily suspended for the sake of organized redistribution of the vehicles across parking lots. The State Border Committee of Belarus is monitoring the situation and is constantly ready for changes.
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