Lithuania seeks clarity on proposed US-Belarus potash deal

Lithuania is seeking clarity from the United States over a proposed agreement to import Belarusian potash fertiliser, LRT reported, citing Deividas Matulionis, the Lithuanian president’s chief national security adviser.

“Frankly speaking, some clarity on this issue would be important,” Matulionis told Žinių radijas on Tuesday.

He said the US interest in buying fertiliser from Belarus had been known for some time, but Lithuania currently had no information about the agreement announced by US President Donald Trump. Commenting on it without such information would be “very difficult and irresponsible”, he said.

Trump has said Washington is working on a major agreement that would allow the United States to import potash fertiliser from Belarus.

The US lifted sanctions imposed on Belarusian fertiliser in 2022 earlier this year. However, restrictions on the transit of Belarusian goods through neighbouring countries continue to significantly limit the possibility of importing the fertiliser into the US.

Before the sanctions were introduced, Belarusian fertiliser was transported through the Port of Klaipėda. Senior Lithuanian officials have remained sceptical about resuming the transit, citing continuing European Union sanctions and an unwillingness to provide companies linked to the Belarusian regime with opportunities to earn money.

Coale visit

John Coale, the US special envoy to Minsk, visited Lithuania and Belarus last week. In an interview with The New York Times, he said an agreement on transporting Belarusian potash fertiliser to the United States had made significant progress and was being pursued by Trump.

Coale said he had discussed the issue with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and planned to raise it with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.

Matulionis said Coale had not discussed any specific agreements on the transit of Belarusian fertiliser with Lithuanian officials.

“Yes, we once again heard Mr Coale’s view that America is interested in buying potash fertiliser from Belarus. That is all I can say,” Nausėda’s adviser said.

EU sanctions on Belarusian fertiliser remain in force until next February. Asked whether Lithuania would oppose extending them at the request of the United States, Matulionis said: “Definitely not. Five months still seems like a very long time these days.”

He noted that Lithuania would hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2027. Countries holding the presidency generally seek to balance the positions of member states rather than promote their own issues, he said.

“At this point, everything will depend on the other countries, whether they are inclined to extend the sanctions or whether there will be other decisions,” Matulionis said.

He added that Lithuania would not want Belarusian potash fertiliser exports to pass through Russian ports, as this would provide additional revenue to Russia’s war machine.

Matulionis said he knew that US representatives had discussed fertiliser transit with Ukrainian officials, but considered such a route unlikely because of the situation in the Black Sea and at the Port of Odesa.

Asked whether the eastern EU countries could reach a regional agreement on Belarusian fertiliser, he said it was too early to say.

Do not link fertiliser to critical minerals

Matulionis also urged observers not to link the US interest in importing Belarusian fertiliser with a memorandum on cooperation in critical minerals signed with Lithuania last week.

The US Geological Survey included potash fertiliser among the country’s critical minerals last year. Matulionis said future cooperation between Lithuania and the US should focus on other issues.

“We are talking about critical minerals needed for the electronics industry, semiconductor production and the defence industry of us all. … We are talking about the so-called rare-earth metals,” he said.

“I definitely do not see a direct connection here with potash fertiliser,” he added.