Гитанас Науседа. Фото: lrp.lt
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda believes that the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border can be resolved by the border agencies of the two countries, while Belarus is trying to elevate the issue to the political level.
Nauseda stressed that Lithuania is ready to cooperate technically but will not give in to pressure from Belarus, Delfi reports.
“Lithuania is indeed ready to cooperate on a technical level, to look for ways to solve the issues. We will not succumb to blackmail, but we certainly will not cover our ears or close the doors. However, we must speak primarily at the technical level, because these are technical problems,” Nauseda said on 25 November.
The Lithuanian president believes the situation can be resolved by the border authorities of both countries.
“There is no need for an artificial attempt to escalate the situation and shift the resolution of issues to the political level,” he stressed.
According to Nauseda, Lithuania is working closely with partners, including the United States, regarding the situation with weather balloons.
In his view, the Lukashenka regime may be coordinating its actions with Russia and seeking to exploit the uncertainty that followed the peace plan proposed by the United States.
“I think the regime wants to take advantage of this situation a little longer and perhaps of some uncertainty that arose in relation to the proposed peace plan. Let us acknowledge that Belarus is a close ally of Russia, so their destabilising actions may be coordinated. The more uncertainty, the more noise, the more beneficial it is for these aggressive regimes,” the Lithuanian president said.
Despite the early reopening of the border, Lithuanian trucks still cannot leave Belarus. State Secretary of the Security Council Alyaksandr Valfovich admitted they are being held due to Vilnius’s unwillingness to enter a political dialogue. Alyaksandr Lukashenka said today that the situation should be resolved by the foreign ministries of the two countries.