Over 700 trucks waiting to leave Belarus for EU

MINSK. July 19 (Interfax) - Lines of trucks waiting to depart Belarus for the European Union continue to grow, with more than 700 trucks currently awaiting customs clearance at the border, the Belarusian State Border Committee said on Wednesday.

"Lines of trucks have been recorded at all points of entry to the EU. The route via the Lithuanian checkpoint Medininkai [Kamenny Log on the Belarusian side of the border] is the busiest. The neighboring side has cleared only 31% of the standard number of vehicles over the past 24 hours," the committee said.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 730 trucks were waiting in line for clearance to leave Belarus for EU countries, most of them (560) for Lithuania. Lines of trucks waiting to cross into Poland have grown the most over the past 24 hours, from 15 trucks to 150. Twenty trucks are also waiting to enter Latvia. There were no lines of trucks in this sector of the border the day before.

On February 10, Poland closed the Bobrowniki-Berestovitsa checkpoint on the border with Belarus to trucks. The Kozlovichi-Kukuryki international road checkpoint is currently the only crossing point operating for freight vehicles on the Belarusian-Polish border. In addition, the Polish interior and administration minister prohibited entry for trucks registered in Belarus and Russia from Belarusian territory from June 1 until further notice.

In mid-February, Lithuania stopped cooperating with Belarus in ensuring continuous trans-border traffic, in a unilateral manner and without explanation.