Юозас Олекас. Фото: канцелярия Сейма Литвы
Lithuania should continue seeking opportunities for dialogue with the Belarusian authorities despite strained relations between the two countries, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said after meeting United Transitional Cabinet head Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, BNS reports.
“We will not work any miracles here, but we need to look for other avenues and contacts,” he told reporters. “We cannot simply fence ourselves off and say that we will change everything and everything will improve, but our goal is to look for opportunities to get our message across.”
According to him, Lithuanian authorities maintain regular contacts with the government in Minsk at the technical level and at some ministerial levels, periodically resuming such contacts.
At the same time, he said Lithuania should seek to further strengthen sanctions against Belarus rather than ease them.
Lithuania began imposing sanctions on the Belarusian authorities in 2020 following the crackdown on mass protests. In February 2022, Lithuania suspended the transit of Belarusian potash fertilizers.
In February, the European Union extended sanctions on Belarusian fertilizers for another year. The decision was made despite the United States lifting its own sanctions on certain types of Belarusian fertilizers this year and subsequently approaching Lithuania and other countries in the region with a proposal to potentially resume transit.
Deputy chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs and conservative MP Žygimantas Pavilionis proposed that Lithuanian officials visit Washington before the next extension of sanctions to coordinate their position with US officials and ensure that the measures remain in force. According to him, the greatest difficulties could arise during Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2027, when decisions on extending the sanctions are expected to coincide with the presidency.
“Knowing that pressure exists and that such a threat is approaching, we must act very actively now, rather than in February or after February, when it will be too late,” Pavilionis said.