Владислав Кондратович. Фото: vrm.lrv.lt
Lithuania’s interior minister, Vladislav Kondratovič, said he sees no grounds for lifting the state of emergency introduced in the country due to an influx of weather balloons carrying contraband. According to him, the special regime remains necessary to control the situation, Delfi reported.
“So far I do not see the need (to lift the state of emergency), because it really helps us make decisions by involving the military. The army requires the existence of such a situation,” the minister told journalists. “It does not cause additional inconvenience to the population, but helps us respond appropriately to the situation.”
The state of emergency was declared across Lithuania amid a crisis involving weather balloons with contraband flying in from Belarus.
In recent months, threats linked to weather balloons have repeatedly led to temporary suspensions of operations at Vilnius Airport. In addition, hundreds of trucks registered in Lithuania and other European Union countries have been stranded in Belarus. In protest, carriers and their professional associations, including the Linava association, have demanded that the authorities take urgent measures.