Lithuania may be fined €600m for early terminal of contract with Belaruskali

<p> MINSK, Dec 24 - PrimePress. Lithuania will have to pay a fine of €600 million if Lithuania’s state-owned railway company (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai, LG) unilaterally terminates the shipping contract with Belaruskali (Soligorsk, Minsk Oblast), said Kazys Starkevičius, head of the Economic Committee at the Lithuanian Seimas. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “At the moment, potash prices have risen to cosmic heights, which is, of course, not just because of the Belarusian crisis. The price is already enormous in any case. If we have to pay a fine (if the contract with Belaruskali is unilaterally terminated by LG – editor’s note), then [the penalty amount will start] not from 200 million [euros], but from 600 million ... We’ve been transporting about 10 million tons of potash in some years, you can count... These are preliminary numbers," Prime agency quotes Starkevičius as saying. </p> <p>   </p> <p> In his words, such amounts would be a shock to the Lithuanian economy. He also stressed that LG has are long-term contracts with Belaruskali until 2023. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Under the OFAC order of August 9 (US Office of Foreign Assets Control), any transactions with Belaruskali or any other company with Belaruskali’s direct or indirect ownership of 50 percent or more, need to be wound down by 7 p.m. Lithuanian time on December 8. However, Lithuania’s state-owned railway company (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai, LG) said in December that it would continue transporting transit cargoes of Belarus’ fertiliser manufacturer Belaruskali to the Port of Klaipeda as Belaruskali had already paid transit and transhipping charges to the Lithuanian company. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the country’s reputation had been badly damaged when the transit of Belarusian fertilizers through Lithuania did not stop, despite the US sanctions. Lithuanian Minister of Transport Marius Skuodis and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis both filed for resignation, however Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte would not satisfy their resignation letters. Eventually, they decided that LG CEO Mantas Bartuska should leave his post. </p> <p>   </p> <p> LZD has received official confirmation from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury that it is not bound by the sanctions announced by the US against Belaruskali. However, the Lithuanian government has declared an intention to have transit stopped by early 2022. End </p>

2021-12-25

Primepress