Belarussian products account for more than one quarter of the goods handled each year by the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. [AFP]A vital maritime trade hub for landlocked Belarus, the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda now faces economic fallout from the Baltic state's hard line against President Alexander Lukashenko. "Belarusian cargo is very important for the port of Klaipeda," Algis Latakas, director general of the port, told AFP, standing near carriages and a ship loaded with Belarusian fertilizer. Russian officials have said any Belarusian cargo could transit instead through the Russian Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Kaliningrad. But Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda brushed aside the prospect of any impact if Belarus switches its trade to Russia, insisting that Belarus would not harm itself economically.

Source: Standard Digital September 27, 2020 07:01 UTC