Border closure with Belarus: Lithuania rejects Lukashenko’s proposal for negotiations
Photo: Kęstutis Budrys, Lithuanian Foreign Minister (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys says he is against negotiations with Belarus due to the border closure, according to Reuters.
The self-proclaimed Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, instructed his foreign minister to start negotiations with Lithuania today, November 11.
Budrys emphasized that "Lukashenko does not set the rules" in the situation with the closure of checkpoints on the Belarus-Lithuania border.
"My insistent recommendation to my government will be to not follow the route which they are trying to force on us," he said.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister added that the United States is "fully involved" in this process.
According to Budrys, Lithuania will open the border with Belarus if smugglers stop violating its airspace. In addition, around 1,000 Lithuanian trucks currently on Belarusian territory must receive permission to return in order to reopen the checkpoints.
Belarusian provocation
In October, the Vilnius International Airport was temporarily closed several times due to balloons coming from Belarusian territory. As a result, about 3,500 passengers and 25 flights were affected.
In response, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė convened a meeting of the National Security Commission, which decided to close the border with Belarus for a month.
Following this, Belarus threatened measures against Lithuanian transport remaining on Belarusian territory after the border closure.
However, provocations continued in November: the Vilnius airport had to temporarily suspend operations again due to unknown drones entering the airspace near the airport.
The European Union considers such incidents a deliberate hybrid campaign by the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. The EU warned that if similar provocations occur again, new sanctions against Belarus could be imposed.
