There is ongoing pressure: The U.S. wants Ukraine to help ease restrictions on Belarusian fertilizers
20 May 16:10
The U.S. is pressuring Ukraine to ease restrictions on potash fertilizer imports from Belarus and has asked Kyiv to persuade European countries to do the same, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the situation, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Washington argues that lifting the restrictions could help create some distance between Belarus and Russia and improve relations with Minsk,” the report states.
Earlier this year, the U.S. already lifted some of its own restrictions on fertilizer imports from Belarus as part of an agreement under which President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime released hundreds of political prisoners.
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However, without the lifting of European sanctions, the effect of this is limited by the fact that Belarus cannot use its traditional sea routes through Baltic Sea terminals and is forced to rely on Russian ports and railways. Countries such as Poland and Lithuania will play a key role in transit.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned this month that Minsk risks becoming even more deeply entangled in Moscow’s war and suggested that Belarus could become a launching pad for new attacks.
On Monday, Minsk announced that its armed forces would conduct surprise nuclear exercises alongside Russian allies.
After the U.S. imposed sanctions in 2021 against a key supplier of “Belaruskali,” Belarus rerouted its potash fertilizer sales through Russia, deepening Lukashenko’s economic dependence on the Kremlin.
Washington’s move to lift sanctions is unlikely to weaken this link unless the EU lifts its ban. EU restrictions prohibit the transport of Belarusian potash fertilizer through Lithuania—once a key export hub for this fertilizer—to the seaport of Klaipėda.
According to sources, there are no signs that the EU intends to ease its restrictions on Belarus.
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