Lithuania closes two border crossings with Belarus
Photo: Lithuania has closed two border crossing points with Belarus (facebook.com/LRVRM1)
On the night of February 29 to March 1, Lithuania closed two more checkpoints on the border with Belarus - Lavoriškės and Raigardas. Only the Medininkai and Šalčininkai, checkpoints remain open in the country, according to the LRT.
Lithuania says that the closure of the checkpoints is aimed at addressing national security issues, smuggling, and violations of international sanctions.
Starting March 1, pedestrian and cyclist traffic through the border crossing points in Medininkai and Šalčininkai will also be suspended, and passenger boarding and disembarking at the railway border points of Kędiai and Kibartai will be prohibited, except in special cases, which will be decided by the State Border Guard Service.
In addition, a decision was made to limit by 50 percent the number of permits issued to Belarusian and Lithuanian carriers engaged in regular international passenger transportation by bus.
According to the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior, last year, citizens crossing road border checkpoints on the state border with Belarus were checked almost 3.9 million times, a quarter more than in 2022. Two-thirds of the checked persons were Belarusian citizens.
Lithuania imposes series of sanctions against Belarus
Recently, the heads of the customs services of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia agreed on unified control in the implementation of the European Union's sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
Also, at the beginning of the year, Lithuania revoked the residence permit of Ilya Epifanov, director of the Belarus sanatorium, which is used by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
Lithuania decided to impose fines for non-compliance with international and national sanctions.
In addition, the Lithuanian authorities extended national sanctions against Russia and Belarus for another year.
