Over 1,000 Belarusian vehicles queuing to cross EU borders

MINSK. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Around 1,200 vehicles are queuing to cross into European Union countries from Belarus, including over 900 waiting to enter Lithuania, the Belarusian Border Committee said on Thursday.

"The Lithuanian route remains the busiest one for trucks, where about 610 vehicles are queuing to enter the EU. The longest line has been observed in front of the Medininkai (Kamenny Log) crossing point. Over the past 24 hours, officers at this border crossing have let about 26% of the normal [daily] number of trucks into their territory," it said.

"In the past 24 hours, control services at Terespol (Brest), the only Polish crossing point functioning for cars, have let 39% of the normal number of cars into their territory. That is, the Polish side cleared 27 of a possible 70 cars per hour. Lines of cars have been recorded in front of all Lithuanian and Latvian crossing points," it said.

On August 18, Lithuania closed the Sumskas (Losha) and Tverecius (Vidzy) checkpoints on the border with Belarus. The Lithuanian government explained its decision with reference to the geopolitical situation and the need to reduce risks. Now that Sumskas and Tverecius are closed, four checkpoints are currently operating on the border with Belarus, namely Medininkai (Kamenny Log), Lavoriskes (Kotlovka), Raigardas (Privalka) and Salcininkai (Benyakoni).

Poland banned border crossing by Belarusian and Russian trucks since April 2022, and the ban on semitrailers registered in Belarus and Russia was enforced in June 2023.