LITHUANIA RESISTS US PRESSURE TO REOPEN BELARUSIAN POTASH EXPORT ROUTE
The Trump administration is pressing Lithuania to reopen the route through Klaipėda for Belarusian potash exports despite EU sanctions, Politico reports. US envoy John Coale has reportedly approached Lithuanian diplomats about easing restrictions, seeking cheaper fertilizer for American farmers and reduced dependence on Canada.
One Eastern European official described the response bluntly: “Fuck no.”
Consider the choice being made. Canada is America’s next-door neighbor, a longstanding ally and an established potash supplier. Rather than resolve the trade dispute with Ottawa, Trump is pursuing supplies from across the Atlantic—from a sanctioned dictatorship that has helped Russia wage war against Ukraine.
Alexander Lukashenko remains in power through repression and crucial backing from Vladimir Putin. After Belarus’s disputed 2020 election, mass protests challenged his rule. His security apparatus crushed dissent while Moscow supported his survival. Belarusians seeking democratic change paid the price.
Now Washington wants European allies to help reopen a valuable export route for that same regime.
American farmers deserve affordable fertilizer. That is a reason to repair relations with a reliable neighboring supplier—not an explanation for overlooking the consequences of enriching Lukashenko’s state.
Lithuania understands those consequences. It lives beside Belarus and Russia, and its security concerns cannot simply be brushed aside to accommodate Trump’s next commercial deal.
Before asking Europe to soften restrictions on a dictatorship, Washington should explain why rebuilding trade relations with democratic Canada is apparently the harder option.