"We have always said, and continue to say, that the market now determines the direction of cargo transportation. In this market, the factors that determine the choice are the quality and price of services. At the moment, the Lithuanian government is working efficiently as far as this issue is concerned and offers a quality service and a price that suits us," Vladimir Drazhin, Belarus' ambassador to Lithuania, said at a press conference in Vilnius.
"However, if the situation changes and other countries - I mean neighbors, Russia and Ukraine - offer more advantageous conditions to us, then the Lithuanian side may lose. I have to say that we are very sensitive to what is happening in the cargo transportation market," he said.
The ambassador said that Lithuania promptly responds to issues that are raised.
Drazhin's position came after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko recently stated that Belarus was ready to direct the bulk of its cargo, which is currently shipped via Baltic ports, to the ports in the Russian Leningrad region.
Over the first 10 months of this year, Lithuania's Klaipėda port handled about 8 million tons of Belarusian cargo, which accounted for approximately 30 percent of all cargo handled at the port.
