Closing the borders with Belarus. Prime Ministers are ready to “sit at the table”

In the face of increasing incidents involving smuggling balloons entering Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, Latvia and Poland are ready to negotiate a joint closure of the borders with Belarus, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced on Wednesday.

– The prime ministers – both of Poland and Latvia – assured me that if necessary, they are ready to sit down at the table and discuss this possibility (closing the border with Belarus – PAP) – Prime Minister Ruginiene said on Wednesday evening in an interview with public television LRT.

However, the head of government emphasized that “we have not reached this stage yet.”

– When this happens, I will invite all prime ministers and we will coordinate joint activities – said the Prime Minister in the “Topic of the Day” television program.

According to the Lithuanian Prime Minister, the European Commission is also showing “active interest” in the situation.

Due to increasing incidents involving meteorological and smuggling balloons entering Lithuanian airspace from Belarus and disrupting traffic at the Vilnius airport, Lithuania closed its border with Belarus at the end of October. A week ago, the Lithuanian government decided to reopen the border, considering that the security situation no longer justified such a solution.

The improvement in the situation turned out to be temporary. Due to smuggling balloons coming from Belarus, the Vilnius airport was closed twice on the night from Sunday to Monday. A record number of balloon signs – 40 – were recorded on radar. Belarus is also blocking the movement of thousands of Lithuanian trucks, not allowing them to return to the country.

In the current situation, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is considering the possibilities of using, among others: national sanctions. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys announced on Wednesday that this issue would be discussed during the meeting of the National Security Committee, which will be held on Thursday.

Due to smuggling balloons, the airport in Vilnius was closed nine times in October and November and once in Kaunas. The suspension of airport operations affected approximately 250 flights and 36,000. passengers.

From Vilnius Aleksandra Akińczo (PAP)

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