Lithuania Ends Customs Deal with Belarus Amid Tensions
BelTA and Seimas confirmed the termination on November 12 to reflect current status-quo in cross-border cooperation.
Belarusian state news agency BelTA and the Lithuanian parliament both confirmed that Lithuania’s Seimas has officially withdrawn from a long-standing customs cooperation agreement with Belarus. The move signals a formal acknowledgment of the near-total halt in cross-border economic activity between the two countries amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Lithuanian Parliament Votes 93-3 To
During the vote in the Lithuanian parliament, 93 members voiced support on November 12 for a move to denounce the agreement, while two abstained. The now-terminated agreement was initially signed in 1996. It aimed to support both trade and security interests through cooperation against customs violations at the Lithuania-Belarus border.
Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė noted that existing bilateral agreements with Belarus are “only applicable to a limited extent,” given that cross-border cooperation is effectively frozen. Skaistė the latest proposal for Lithuania "is determined to legally anchor its position as close to those of the 'status quo'" by abandoning this agreement and emphasizing that there is no ongoing cooperation.
Lithuania’s Decision Aligns with Recent Moves to End Bilateral Agreements with Belarus and Russia
The termination follows Lithuania’s October decision to annul three other international agreements related to economic cooperation with both Belarus and Russia, including a bilateral trade agreement from 1994 in December 2024, and a cross-border agreement from 2006 in January 2023.
Besides the confirmed reports in Belarusian state agency BelTa, there have been no official statements from the Belarusian government regarding Lithuania's decision, as of November 13, 2024.
