Issue of trucks stuck in Belarus being resolved at EU level - Lithuanian Foreign Ministry
MINSK. Jan 16 (Interfax) - The issue of returning the Lithuanian trucks stuck in Belarus is being resolved at the level of the European Union, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.
"I am personally dealing with this issue, and my colleagues in Brussels are involved in it, because ultimately, these are assets of European Union companies. This is a clear violation of our interests - not only Lithuanian but also European interests," Budrys said in an interview with LRT radio on Friday.
"The issue of the detained trucks is being resolved, but everything depends on the decisions taken which will increase pressure on Belarus," he said.
"The European Commission is working on this, and various options for measures to pressure Belarus are being considered," he said.
The carriers themselves "at the very least, need to reconsider the risks of doing business with Belarus," he said.
"And when I see figures showing that companies whose trucks have already been confiscated are returning to Belarus and continuing their activities, I have fundamental questions about whether we all truly understand economic security in the same way," he said.
Lithuania's Linava National Road Carriers Association previously reported on negotiations that took place with Deputy Lithuanian Foreign Minister Taurimas Valys, which discussed the search for sustainable solutions to the problem of the trucks stuck in Belarus.
The president of Linava, Erlandas Mikenas, said that Lithuanian carriers would begin an indefinite protest action if the Lithuanian government did not take active steps to return the trucks stuck in Belarus.
The association also reported that more than 100 Lithuanian transport companies are planning to file a collective lawsuit against the Lithuanian government.
On December 10, 2025, Lithuanian truckers, during a protest action in Vilnius, demanded that the country's authorities announce a concrete plan within three days for the return of the trucks remaining in impound lots in Belarus or proposals for compensation. Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene rejected the possibility of compensating losses. Linava later said that it had not received a response from the government to the demand put forward.
Relations between Belarus and Lithuania deteriorated in October 2025. At that time, amid the intensified smuggling of cigarettes into Lithuania using weather balloons which caused disruptions at Vilnius Airport, Lithuania decided to close border crossing points with Belarus for a month.
As a result, many trucks remained in Belarus without the possibility of leaving for Lithuania. The Belarusian government first restricted their ability to move, and then decided to release the drivers, leaving the vehicles in impound lots. The Lithuanian government reopened the border ahead of schedule in order to return the trucks; this occurred on the night of November 20, but it did not solve the problem. Minsk demands negotiations at the diplomatic level, as the issue with Vilnius remains unresolved.
Previously, Linava publicly claimed that around 4,000 vehicles belonging to Lithuanian carriers remained in Belarus, including around 1,250 tow trucks. In negotiations with state bodies, the association cited a figure of 488 trucks. The Customs Department under the Lithuanian Finance Ministry conducted its own monitoring, according to which less than 200 Lithuanian trucks and trailers were placed in impound lots in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities earlier reported that there were approximately 1,800 trucks.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that cigarettes are being smuggled into Lithuania on weather balloons by Lithuanians themselves, who purchase them from Belarusian factories for resale to the United Kingdom as well as to the Netherlands and other EU countries.
