Lithuania may cancel investment agreement with Belarus

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has addressed the national parliament, Seimas, with a proposal to denounce several agreements with Belarus and Russia, namely, the Lithuanian-Belarusian deal on the promotion and protection of investments, which was signed in Minsk in 1999.

President Nauseda's proposal also includes the denouncement of a similar deal with Russia and the potential termination of the agreement to avoid double taxation.

In the earlier developments, investors from the so-called "unfriendly" countries were limited in their rights in Belarus. The Belarusian government forbade them from selling their shares. Initially, the list included 190 companies whose shareholders included "persons from foreign countries committing unfriendly actions against Belarusian legal entities and (or) individuals." At the time, Minsk cited the "protection of interests" to justify its decision. In reality, it was an attempt to stop the outflow of foreign capital.