Sanctions controls slow down Belarusian-Lithuanian border traffic – official

June 22, BPN. Crossing the border between Lithuania and Belarus will take longer due to increased controls over dual-use goods exports, Lithuanian Transport Minister Marius Skuodis has told Žinių radijas.

Some dual-use goods will soon be banned from transportation across the border, he warned.

The minister linked the queues of trucks at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border to sanctions enforcement. “I support and will support Customs in what job they are doing,” he stressed, noting that increasing border crossing capacity may lead to more evasion attempts.

Additional sanctions may further complicate border crossing procedures, he said.

On June 5, Lithuanian Customs said it would tighten controls over exports to third countries to prevent sanctions evasion. It linked the move to an unusual rise in trade with certain countries.

On June 15, Linava, an association of Lithuanian carriers, complained of large truck queues at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and asked the government to immediately increase the capacity of border crossings to prevent a transport crisis.

A day later, Lithuania’s Economy Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė announced an intention to restrict the imports of dual-use goods to Belarus and Russia.

The Lithuanian Seimas economy committee is soon expected to decide on enhancing controls over the enforcement of sanctions against Belarus and Russia, according to its chair Kazys Starkevičius.