Lithuania rejects Belaruskali claims in arbitration lawsuit

LRT | 4 December 2024

Lithuania rejects Belaruskali claims in arbitration lawsuit

After Belarusian potash fertiliser giant Belaruskali filed a lawsuit against Lithuania to the International Court of Arbitration, Lithuania says it does not agree with the allegations.

“The Republic of Lithuania disagrees with all the claims made by Belaruskali in its lawsuit to the arbitration court and will submit its arguments of disagreement to the arbitration court within the deadlines set,” the Transport and Communications Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

In response to BNS inquiries regarding the case progress, the ministry said, “Lithuania is a state governed by the rule of law and complies with all its international legal obligations, and arbitration is a normal procedure for resolving investment disputes”.

“The mere fact that Belaruskali has submitted claims against Lithuania does not automatically mean they are justified. On the contrary, Lithuania is confident that its decisions are fully justified and lawful,” it added.

According to the ministry, the sanctions against Belaruskali were imposed by the European Union by common consent of its members, and Lithuania was implementing these sanctions, which are currently in force.

The ministry recalls that the EU General Court has already rejected Belaruskali’s lawsuit challenging the sanctions, and Lithuanian courts have rejected the Belarusian company’s appeals and found that the decisions by the country’s authorities were legal.

The Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that the lawsuit against Lithuania was filed for the country’s allegedly illegal actions which violated Belaruskali’s rights as a foreign investor protected by the inter-governmental agreement on the promotion and protection of investments

“We want to seek compensation for the damage. The amount is significant. It will be analysed by all parties and will be discussed during the process. The lawsuit contains all the necessary calculations. In our opinion, everything is clear and understandable. The final decision is up to the arbitration,” Belaruskali CEO Andrei Rybakov told Belta.

Belaruskali had exported its fertilisers via the Klaipėda Port for more than a decade, but the shipments stopped on February 1, 2022, after Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), the country’s state-owned railway company, terminated its long-term contract with the US-sanctioned Belarusian potash fertiliser giant.

The move followed the Lithuanian government’s decision that the contract on the transit of Belaruskali fertilisers from the border with Belarus to Klaipėda was not in line with national security interests.

In October 2023, Belaruskali initiated investment arbitration proceedings against Lithuania. The Belarusian fertiliser giant claims that the contract was terminated illegally and possibly in violation of the bilateral agreement on investment promotion and protection signed between Lithuania and Belarus in 1999 and demands compensation for damages.

Belaruskali’s shipments were handled at the Klaipėda Port by Birių Krovinių Terminalas (BKT), a bulk cargo terminal co-owned by the local businessman Igor Udovickij and Belaruskali itself.

More information about this case

source: LRT