Truck lines double at Belarusian-EU border

MINSK. March 15 (Interfax) - The lines of trucks heading to the European Union from Belarus have doubled, as Lithuania shut down two border checkpoints, the Belarusian State Border Committee said in a statement on Friday.

"Lithuania unilaterally closed the Lavoriskes (Kotlovka) and Raigardas (Privalka) checkpoints on March 1. The Lithuanian side announced plans to increase personnel at other checkpoints, given the available resources, but that did not happen. As a result, lines have markedly grown at the Lithuanian border and on other routes. The number of trucks headed to the EU has grown 110% over the past two weeks," the statement said.

The Lithuanian border remained the busiest route for the past two weeks. The number of trucks waiting to cross into Lithuania has grown from 1,200 to 2,270, it said.

Lines have grown from 300 to 690 trucks at the Latvian border since March 1, the committee said.

The number of trucks stranded at the Belarusian-Polish border has increased from 50 to 300, it said.