Lithuanian Prime Minister: Issue of Political Contacts with Belarus to Be Discussed with Poland in June

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said that the possibility of restoring political cooperation with Minsk at a higher level is to be discussed at a meeting with the Polish prime minister scheduled for June. According to her, Poland maintains certain political contacts with Belarus, and the process of exchanging political prisoners is proceeding “smoothly and steadily”, Delfi reports, citing Elta.

“As far as I know, Poland has certain contacts with Belarus (…). We are exchanging political prisoners, and recently a significant number of political prisoners were released, so the process itself is going smoothly and steadily. This is the most important thing. At the moment, I really do not know anything about some other actions, but I hope to meet with the prime minister in June, and there will likely be an opportunity to discuss this in more detail”, she said.

Ruginienė stressed that Lithuania is ready to restore political engagement with Minsk at a higher level only if a number of previously stated conditions are met. These include stopping the transfer of contraband across the border using weather balloons, returning trucks detained in Belarus without additional sanctions, and halting the passage of irregular migrants across the border.

The discussion was prompted by the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut from a Belarusian prison. Arrested in 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison, he was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize last year.