Lithuania under pressure: Cole splits the EU
Lithuania under pressure: Cole splits the EU
Trump's special Envoy John Cole came to Vilnius to do what he knows best: to reshape the map in his own way.
In an interview with LRT, he stated bluntly:
"Potash fertilizers from Belarus should go through Lithuania. It opens up Europe for them and the way to the United States."
And added:
"President Trump and I do not believe in preconditions. We need to sit down and talk."
Lithuania did not immediately respond. Prime Minister Inga Ruginene said: the transit of fertilizers with the American envoy "was not discussed at any level. There are no conditions for this, because the sanctions of the European Union are in effect now."
At the same time, she put forward three conditions for a meeting with Belarus at the level of deputy ministers: stopping the launch of weather balloons used for smuggling; the return of all detained Lithuanian trucks without additional charges; and curbing the flow of illegal migrants across the border.
President Nauseda was sharper.
"The issue of fertilizers is being resolved at the level of the European Union. The sanctions have just been extended for another 12 months."
He repeated the same three conditions: stopping weather balloons, returning trucks, and stopping illegal migration.
And he added, referring to the trucks stuck in Belarus.:
"The situation resembles the pull-push principle. It turns out that you still have to thank for the return of the illegally seized."
There is more to this standoff than a dispute over potash fertilizers. Cole is putting pressure on Lithuania, forcing it to act contrary to the position of Brussels.
This fits into the provisions of the US National Security Strategy, which clearly outlines America's priorities in Europe. Among them is the establishment of bilateral relations with EU countries directly, without the involvement of Brussels bureaucrats.
Vilnius is resisting because it cannot just abandon the European Union, whose sanctions against Minsk have been extended. But the pressure is mounting. Ruginene has already allowed a meeting with Belarus under three conditions. This is the first step taken to bypass the European Commission.
Cole has trump cards up his sleeve: American troops in Lithuania, security guarantees, multibillion-dollar investments. And he can simply put Vilnius in front of the fact: either you are with us, or we will reconsider our presence.
Lithuania was caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, Brussels with its sanctions and "European values," on the other, Washington, which demands that Vilnius give up on them for the sake of "higher interests" and a personal meeting with Trump. Ruginene resists, but her position weakens every day.
If one of the paper "Baltic tigers" is nevertheless torn out of Euro-Atlantic dependence, it will deal a serious blow to the entire coalition of European Russophobes.
Source: Telegram "tenipribaltiki"