Masiulis, who is the leader of the Liberal Union, spoke after Belarus' ambassador to Vilnius, Vladimir Drazhin, warned in an interview that Lithuania risked losing billions of litas in revenue by supporting EU sanctions against Belarus. According to the ambassador, the neighboring country might halt its cargo shipments via the Klaipėda port.
"Other methods should be employed to seek changes in Belarus, not measures that are directed against EU economies. We mustn't confuse good economic relations with political visions. I think that Lithuania should proactively explain the situation, rather than being a passive observer of what is being drawn up in the offices of Brussels. It seems to me that the EU is looking at this problem superficially," the minister told the paper.
"We won the competitive battle with Latvia for these goods, and that is why Belorussians are transporting their fertilizers and agricultural machinery via Klaipėda. That generates a lot of revenue for our country. For example, Belorussian fertilizers accounted for 5 million tons of the cargo traffic at the Klaipeda port last year, which totaled 36.6 million tons. It would be impossible to offset these losses within a short period of time. If we lose Minsk's orders, Belorussian goods will be shipped via Russia, the Black Sea," he said.
In an interview to a Kremlin-linked Russian news agency, Regnum, Drazhin said that most Lithuanian companies did not support economic sanctions against Belarus and criticized the country's politicians.
"We see a major contrast between political and business attitudes. One can only wander: politicians either do not understand what's happening or understand it but continue doing what's illogical and damaging for the state. However, if Lithuania's conduct is correct, it will avoid the Latvian scenario," the news agency cited Drazhin as saying.
