DISINFO: Transit ban on Belarusian fertilisers is a Lithuanian act of hybrid aggression against Minsk

Disinformation around sanctions and the West waging a so-called hybrid war.

Lithuania began the process of banning the transit of Belarusian fertilisers at the end of 2021. It was made in support of US sanctions against Belarus and was a legal decision of the Lithuanian Government. Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė explained the purpose of the ban. “The decisions, which are being now implemented and, first of all, of course, apply to business entities, have the same goal Lithuania, as a state, has always agreed to, which is to ensure that authoritarian regimes have as little financial comfort as possible than they sometimes manage to achieve”, she said.

This decision is not an act of hybrid aggression but Lithuania's policy on the regime in Minsk. After the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, Vilnius does not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as president. The European Union has also stated that the elections were neither free nor fair.

The EU, the US and some other countries are imposing sanctions on the Belarus regime due to oppression against civil society in Belarus, the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident, escalation of the migration crisis on the EU border with Belarus, etc (see more about the EU sanctions on Belarus here and about the US sanctions on the Belarus regime here).

See similar examples of disinformation about Lithuania's so-called aggressive behaviour toward Belarus: Lithuania constantly interferes in the affairs of Belarus; Lithuania hopes to transform the Belarusian opposition into Russophobes and Sinophobes; Lithuania pays Tsikhanouskaya salary to destabilise the situation in Belarus.