The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, 24 November, summoned a representative of the Belarusian embassy. According to the statement released today by the Lithuanian foreign service, the Belarusian side was issued a firm protest “in connection with the renewed hybrid attacks.”
During the meeting, the representative of the Belarusian embassy was informed about violations of Lithuania’s airspace from the territory of Belarus, which the Lithuanian authorities consider a threat to national security and civil aviation. In particular, operations at Vilnius Airport were suspended on 20 November as well as on 23–24 November.
“The ministry demanded that Belarus immediately take measures to prevent the recurrence of such violations and reminded that, if Belarus deliberately avoids suppressing such hybrid actions, Lithuania reserves the right to reinstate restrictions on crossing the state border or apply additional response measures”, the Lithuanian MFA said.
Another topic of the meeting concerned the trucks of Lithuanian carriers stranded in Belarus after the border closure earlier this month. Although two border checkpoints resumed operations on 20 November, the trucks are still unable to leave Belarus.
“The representative of Belarus was reminded once again about the still unresolved issue of the deliberate detention and non-release from the territory of the Republic of Belarus of tractor units, trailers, and semi-trailers registered in the European Union and owned by EU individuals and legal entities”, the statement said.