Lithuanian FM resigns over Belaruskali sanctions debacle

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis submitted Friday his resignation amid the controversy of Belaruskali products being transported via Lithuania despite the US sanctions against Belarus' fertilizer manufacturer.

The Belarusian state-owned company is one of the biggest potash producers in the world, and it exports most of its production via Lithuania.

The US introduced sanctions on Belaruskali on Dec 8 and Lithuanian authorities assumed that Belaruskali's transit across the country would cease on the same day, since commercial banks stopped processing the company's transactions.

However, state-owned Lithuanian Railways said the shipments to the port of Klaipeda would continue for another several months, as Belaruskali had paid in advance before the sanctions came into effect.

The railway company said the Foreign Ministry and the Transport Ministry had been informed about the situation, although Landsbergis initially denied any knowledge of it.

On Thursday, Landsbergis said he was ready to step down.

Transport Minister Marius Skuodis has also signaled he was ready to step down if the prime minister asked him to.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Thursday she would announce her decision early next week.