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Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys is using today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting to push for new sanctions against Belarus. He said ahead of the session in Brussels that Lithuania is facing a hybrid attack and blackmail from Minsk, and that the EU’s mission is to protect its member states.
“I will use this opportunity to brief the Council once again on what is happening at our border with Belarus. We are under a combined attack coming from Belarus. One element is the hybrid use of meteorological balloons launched into our airspace, violating our airspace and disrupting civil aviation. More than thirty thousand passengers have been affected, over a thousand last night alone, and more than two hundred flights have been redirected. Our transport system cannot function normally — this is one line of attack.
The other line of attack is the seizure of our trucks and semi-trailers in Belarus — blackmail and pressure on our economy. This combined attack must be met with a response from the European Union,” he said.
Earlier this month, following the border closure, all Lithuanian trucks in Belarus were moved to special parking sites. Last week Lithuania reopened two border crossings with Belarus, but the trucks that had been stuck on Belarusian territory have still not returned. Minsk insists that negotiations should be held at the level of foreign ministries.
“The European Union must protect its member states, protect its companies, and protect the property of its companies. And the way to do that is to introduce additional sanctions against the Belarusian economy, trade and representatives of the regime,” Budrys added.
From Sunday to Monday, operations at Vilnius Airport were twice suspended because of smuggler balloons. This time, similar devices were detected not only in Lithuania but also in Latvia.