Key facts
- US officials described envoy John Coale's port proposal as freelancing, saying the State Department is not pursuing it.
- A European official said Lithuania's position on Belarusian potash transit has not changed.
- The State Department has never raised the potash transit issue with Lithuania, a European official said.
- White House officials linked the December 2025 sanctions relief to Belarus releasing political prisoners and constructive engagement.
- EU sanctions bar member states from trading in Belarusian goods and must be renewed unanimously every 12 months.
- Canada previously supplied around 80% of US potash imports, according to the report.
A push by US representative John Coale to reopen Lithuanian ports to Belarusian potash exports does not reflect an agreed shift in Washington policy, multiple US and European officials told the Kyiv Independent in a report published November 5, 2026.
A European official familiar with Lithuania's position said the initiative came solely from Coale and that "the position has not changed," adding that the EU's stance on Belarusian potash had also stayed the same. The official said the State Department "has never raised this" with Lithuania. A US government official described the proposal as Coale "freelancing," saying neither the State Department nor the wider administration was pursuing the policy.
Lithuania, a supporter of Ukraine, has no plans to change its position on allowing Belarusian potash through its territory, according to two officials familiar with the matter. EU sanctions prohibit member states from trading in Belarusian goods and must be renewed every 12 months by unanimous agreement, giving Lithuania a theoretical route to block a renewal.
Belarus was once among the world's leading potash suppliers, and potash is a key input in agricultural fertilizer. The US, UK, EU and Canada imposed sanctions on Belarusian potash after Lukashenko's regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in 2020 following an election widely viewed as stolen. In December 2025, Washington announced it was lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash producers.
White House officials defended that decision, with a Trump administration official telling the Kyiv Independent that it reflected "Belarus's recent constructive engagement with the United States and continued release of political prisoners." The official said the US imports potash from several suppliers and looks for commercial opportunities serving American economic interests, without discussing specific transactions. The report said the administration is seeking alternatives to Canadian imports, which previously accounted for around 80% of US potash supplies.
Several US officials expressed frustration with what they described as competing and poorly coordinated foreign policy initiatives. One American official described US policy as "schizophrenic," saying career diplomats were often unaware of initiatives advanced independently by Coale and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. Coale did not respond to multiple requests for comment.