Budrys says US Belarus fertiliser deal will not directly affect Lithuania
Tuesday 22nd September 2026 on 06:00 in
Lithuania
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told LRT that a planned US deal to buy potash fertiliser from Belarus is a bilateral matter and would not directly affect Lithuania.
US President Donald Trump has said Washington is working on a “huge” agreement to purchase Belarusian potash fertiliser. Budrys said the announcement concerned relations between the United States and Belarus and was not directly linked to the European Union’s sanctions policy.
EU sanctions prohibit Belarusian potash fertiliser from entering or transiting through EU territory, regardless of who owns the fertiliser or which company transports it, Budrys said. He added that no EU member state could currently be part of a fertiliser agreement between the United States and Belarus.
Budrys said he had explained to US officials how the EU sanctions work. He also said he saw no basis for reviewing the sanctions, citing human rights violations, the crushing of the opposition and Belarus’s support for Russia.
However, the minister acknowledged that closer US-Belarus relations could affect regional security. He said previous attempts by the United States to ease relations with Belarus had been followed by more aggressive behaviour by Belarus along its border with NATO countries.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whom LRT interviewed in New York, said potash fertiliser exports were the main source of income for Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka. She said the money would be used for repression and to support Russia in the war, adding that about 600 Belarusian companies were supplying Russia’s war machine.
Trump said on Monday on the social network Truth Social that the fertiliser deal would offer prices significantly lower than those for Canadian fertiliser. He called it “very good news” for US farmers.
Canada is the largest supplier of potash fertiliser consumed by the United States. The two countries have become embroiled in an escalating tariff dispute after talks on a new trade agreement broke down.