Paluckas on Belaruskalij's billion-dollar lawsuit against Lithuania: it's a political pressure tool

2025 m. vasario 4 d. 13:59
Lrytas.lt
Belarusian fertiliser producer Belaruskalij has initiated arbitration proceedings against Lithuania to recover almost EUR 12 billion in damages for the suspension of transit of potash fertilisers produced by the company from February 2022. According to Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, the new amount is a political pressure measure by the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenko.
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„I don't assess, and the arbitration will assess the validity of these claims – whether it is EUR 16 billion, EUR 10 billion or EUR 12 billion does not make any impression. We think this is a political pressure measure“, Paluckas told reporters on Tuesday.
According to him, the Government will not take any action because the outcome of the arbitration case will depend on the lawyers representing Lithuania.
The Prime Minister stressed, „There are lawyers who are doing their job, and they will do it. We believe that Lithuania's position is the right one.“
At the time, Transport and Communications Minister Eugenijus Sabutis said he could not comment on the situation yet.
„The position of the Ministry of Transport and Communications is completely legal – we will only be able to comment on what we can do and only when we can do it. In this case, I have no right to comment (...) to prevent the other party from calling for further legal action,“ the Minister told journalists.
Belaruskalij is seeking more than EUR 12 billion (about EUR 11.8 billion) in damages from Lithuania, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague said on Monday.
According to the court, the statement of claim was filed on 2 December 2024, and the Belarusian state-owned company initiated the arbitration proceedings against Lithuania on 17 October 2023.
The LRT portal first reported in December last year, citing sources, that the damages claimed from Lithuania could reach almost EUR 12 billion.
However, according to the portal, the Lithuanian side sees Belaruskalij new statement as a scare tactic, as the change of government opens up the possibility of forcing Lithuania to come to the negotiating table or to seek a settlement in arbitration.
In November last year, incoming Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas confirmed that he had previously discussed sanctions issues with lawyer Vilius Nikitin, who represents the interests of Belaruskalij's fertiliser handling company in Klaipėda, Bulk Terminal, owned by businessman Igor Udovitsky.
Belaruskalij owns a 30% stake in Birių krovinių terminalas.
Also, as LRT reported, Belaruskalij is not so much seeking compensation as a complete lifting of the sanctions, which is being pursued at all levels and by all means.
„According to Belaruskalij, it has suffered losses due to the suspension of transit through Lithuania as of 1 February 2022, when it was supposed to run until the end of 2023. The contract with the Belarusian producer was terminated by the state-owned company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai.
The arbitration tribunal against Lithuania was formed in early 2024. Earlier, the media reported that Belaruskalij claims damages from Lithuania amounting to around EUR 1 billion.
The first hearing in the arbitration case was scheduled for February 2026, but this date is likely to be postponed.
However, as already announced, cases of this kind usually take 3–5 years.
The government has confirmed that Lithuania's contract with the Belarusian fertiliser business threatens national security, and the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania) has also stated that this decision is justified.
Arbitration is conducted under the UNICITRAL 1976 (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law—ELTA) or United Nations Commission on International Trade Law rules. Ad hoc arbitration is composed of three arbitrators: one appointed by the claimant, one appointed by the defendant, and the third chosen by the arbitrators' decision.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration technically services the arbitration in The Hague.
Lithuania terminated the disputed contract with Belaruskalij based on a government decision adopted in January 2022, which stated that Belaruskalij posed a threat to national security. As reported in the media, the company argues that Lithuania may have violated a bilateral investment promotion agreement concluded with Belarus in 1999 by terminating transit.
The denunciation of this treaty was approved by Seimas last October.

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