Lithuania accuses Berlarus of blackmail. Trucks hidden in private parking lots for fear that Minsk will confiscate them

Lithuania has reopened its border with Belarus, but thousands of trucks remain stuck at the border, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said, denouncing what it called “a blackmail” involving goods worth millions of euros, reports AFP, taken by Agerpres.

Lithuania closed its border with Belarus at the end of October after balloons used to smuggle cigarettes entered its airspace, leading to the closure of some Lithuanian airports. Together with the European Union, Vilnius condemned these incidents as “hybrid threats”. But the border closure also left thousands of Lithuanian trucks stranded on the Belarusian side.

On Thursday, shortly after two border crossings reopened, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said numerous trucks were “still being held hostage” and accused the government in Minsk, a close ally of Russia, of “coercion and blackmail”.

Oleg Tarasov, vice president of Linava, the Lithuanian transporters' association, told AFP that around 60 million euros ($69 million) in assets were stuck in Belarus following the border closure.

On Friday, he stated that “the number (of confiscated trucks) remained the same.” “We are talking about 4,500 trucks, including those blocked at the border and those that are still on the roads and have not been stopped,” he added, some “hiding in private parking lots” to avoid their confiscation.

Lithuania initially announced the closure of its borders with Belarus until November 30. However, the authorities reversed this decision on Wednesday, explaining that the internal security situation no longer justifies the closure. A spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Lithuania's decision to reopen border crossings was made “in violation of established procedures.”

Business at Vilnius airport was disrupted for more than an hour on Friday following new overflights of balloons from Belarus.