Russia is extending its influence into Belarus and could use it as leverage against NATO countries, Gitanas Nausėda, the president of Lithuania told CNBC in an exclusive interview Monday.

“We see the military buildup of Russian forces in Ukraine, in [the] Kaliningrad region and of course we see what’s happening in Belarus right now. We see that this country is losing its last elements of independence, and could be used in the hands of Russians as a weapon … for foreign aggressive activities towards NATO allies,” the Lithuanian leader said.

Lithuania, a nation in the Baltic region, shares a border with Belarus and has been a member of NATO since 2004. The president has previously described the relationship between Belarus and Russia as another Crimea — in reference to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Belarus was under the international spotlight last month when a civilian airplane traveling from Greece to Latvia was forced to land in Minsk, and two passengers — opponents of the Belarussian regime — were detained.

Speaking to CNBC Monday, Nausėda said “to swallow Belarus” was an “old” idea in Russia.

The Russian authorities were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. Previously, Moscow has criticized the deployment of NATO troops in Eastern Europe and separately Russia has denied involvement in the landing of the Ryanair flight in Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Belarussian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, last month in Sochi in the aftermath of the landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk.

NATO leaders are meeting in Brussels on Monday for their first face-to-face gathering since U.S. President Joe Biden started his tenure at the White House. At the top of their discussions is the relationship with Moscow, which, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, is at its lowest point since the Cold War.

This gathering is seen as a stepping stone in the runup to a meeting between Biden and Putin later this week in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Putin should understand that any malign activities, any military aggression against the neighbors, against the alliance of NATO should be very costly — and costs will be political, economic,” Nausėda also said Monday.

“If we send this message, we can change a bit this aggressive behavior [that] Russia is showing recently,” he added.

First, it was a critical shortage of shipping containers due to the pandemic. Then came a massive blockage in the Suez Canal.

Now, businesses and consumers are bracing for yet another shipping crisis, as a virus outbreak in southern China disrupts port services and delays deliveries, driving up costs again.

The Chinese province of Guangdong has faced a sudden uptick in Covid-19 cases. Authorities have moved to shut down districts and businesses to prevent the virus from spreading rapidly.

That’s causing massive shipping delays in major Chinese ports, and jacking up already-high shipping costs as waiting times at berth “skyrocketed,” according to analysts and those in the shipping industry. 

“The disruptions in Shenzhen and Guangzhou are absolutely massive. Alone, they would have an unprecedented supply chain impact,” said Brian Glick, founder and CEO at supply chain integration platform Chain.io, told CNBC.

However, combined with the challenges that the global supply chain has faced since this year, shipping is in “absolutely uncharted waters,” said Glick. 

Guangdong, a major shipping hub, accounts for about 24% of China’s total exports. It is also home to the Shenzhen port and the Guangzhou port — which are the third largest and the fifth largest in the world by container volume, according to the World Shipping Council. 

The first local case of the Delta variant, first detected in India, was found in Guangzhou in May and has since spiked to over 100 cases. Authorities have imposed lockdowns and other measures that constrain the processing capacity at ports.

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Tuesday morning trade following overnight gains on Wall Street that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to record closing highs.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.43% in early trade while the Topix index advanced 0.31%. South Korea’s Kospi hovered above the flatline.

Australian stocks also rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.29%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded mildly higher.

Looking ahead, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s June monetary policy meeting are set to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.74% to an all-time closing high of 14,174.14. The S&P 500 also cruised to another record close, rising 0.18% to 4,255.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, dipping 85.85 points to 34,393.75.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.479 — stronger than levels below 90.3 seen late last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 110.06 per dollar following a recent weakening from below 109.8 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.771, off levels above $0.774 seen last week.

Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.41% to $73.16 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.4% to $71.16 per barrel.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

• Australia: Minutes from Reserve Bank of Australia’s June monetary policy meeting at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN