Part of a Big Deal: Belarusian Fertilizers Possibly Sent to the US via Lithuania

It's possible that the United States will put pressure on Vilnius, and Belarusian fertilizers will be sent to the US via Lithuania. But who has the most interest in this? Let's hear their opinions.

Olga Shpilevskaya, Director of the Mir TV and Radio Broadcasting Company in Belarus and Chair of the Belarusian Union of Women: "The story with potash fertilizers is controversial. As the President of Belarus said, we're talking about a 'big deal.' Opening Lithuanian ports for the shipment of our potash fertilizers is one of them. Do we really need this? I can't say yes, because there's a different story, with different logistics, and when we realize we can handle this, too, although everything is good when it's accessible and nearby."

The expert recalled that the Lithuanians had repeatedly emphasized that they didn't need this—not ordinary Lithuanians, but rather the Lithuanian leadership. These weren't entrepreneurs or businessmen, because they were the ones who had a vested interest. "We see how the port of Klaipėda suffered from the departure of Belarusian potash fertilizers and Belarusian cargo. Essentially, this was the foundation of the port's existence, and therefore the foundation of the livelihoods of the people who worked there. It was their livelihood. So, while we've always said that Lithuania shoots itself in the foot when it does this, now the Americans have shot them in the head. I don't think there's any other way to describe it," Olga Shpilevskaya concluded.