Lithuanian presidential adviser Asta Skaisgirytė said in an interview with Žinių radijus that preconditions must be met before dialogue with Minsk can begin. According to her, the continuing hybrid attacks do not demonstrate any real willingness on the Belarusian side to engage in dialogue.
“We can consider dialogue when there is something to talk about. As long as these actions continue, Lithuania remains in quite a defensive position, and there is nothing to talk about. These actions simply have to stop”, she said, according to LRT.
She stressed that although the United States is speaking about the need to negotiate without preconditions, Vilnius is not ready for such a step.
“These requests were not official or made at a high level. Yes, American negotiators say that it is better to negotiate without any preconditions. Perhaps for some people this is possible. I think that in our case it is difficult, because we already have a history, a background to our relations. Negotiations without any preconditions are not particularly beneficial for us”, she said.
According to her, technical-level contacts with Belarus continue, but there is no possibility for political-level negotiations.
“For us to have a meaningful political dialogue, we need conditions, we need goodwill, and then we will be able to talk if we have something to discuss. Today we do not see what we should be talking about.
Should we remind Belarus that its territory was handed over to Russian military forces for the attack on Ukraine? Or that political prisoners are still being thrown into prison?”, she said.