{"id":581984,"date":"2026-09-26T17:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T14:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=581984"},"modified":"2026-09-26T19:45:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T16:45:32","slug":"lithuanian-prime-minister-belarus-must-create-conditions-for-changing-relations-with-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/lithuanian-prime-minister-belarus-must-create-conditions-for-changing-relations-with-the-eu","title":{"rendered":"Lithuanian Prime Minister: Belarus Must Create Conditions for Changing Relations with the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevi\u010dius<\/strong> told Deutsche Welle<\/a> in an interview that Vilnius currently sees no signs that Belarus is ready to change its policy toward its neighbours. In his view, sanctions against Belarus should remain in place until the conduct of the Belarusian authorities changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur intelligence agencies, of course, inform us through their own channels. We have both internal security services and military intelligence. As of today, the level of threats has not changed. It has not become significantly more dangerous. Tensions remain, but there are no signs of any sharp change. What we are saying today does not, of course, mean that the situation will not be different a week from now, because sometimes events develop very dynamically and unfavourably,\u201d<\/em> he said in response to a question about the security situation.<\/p>\n

Sinkevi\u010dius stressed that Lithuania faces \u201cinstrumentalised migration\u201d from Belarus, as well as incursions by drones and meteorological balloons used for smuggling that disrupt civil aviation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we see that the issue of distance is changing. It may seem that we are a country on NATO\u2019s eastern flank and that this is a problem exclusively for border states connected to the war in Ukraine. But incidents are also occurring in Germany, at Leipzig Airport. More and more countries are experiencing various similar incidents. I think all this creates a general sense of anxiety in society, which we must address because people want to feel safe. And we are indeed doing a great deal to ensure that,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

Asked about the possibility of normalising bilateral relations with Belarus, he said that this depends not only on Lithuania\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany companies and individuals are under sanctions. Relations have reached a point where we are facing instrumentalised migration from Belarus. There was a time when our border was not sufficiently guarded. Perhaps there was a shortage of surveillance equipment. We addressed this promptly by installing surveillance systems. Then the problem of aerial balloons emerged\u2014the very meteorological balloons used for smuggling. In addition to being used to transport contraband, they disrupted our civil aviation. We have faced genuinely serious consequences on several occasions,\u201d<\/em> the prime minister stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think bilateral relations with Belarus can change, but sanctions\u2026 What is their purpose, and why are they periodically extended? Sanctions are intended to change behaviour. If behaviour does not change, the status quo in relations remains. Based on what we see and what is happening, there are currently no signs that Belarus is ready to become a predictable and reasonable neighbour that does not threaten our security. But that does not mean it will always be this way. Political will is needed. Proactive steps are needed. And it is never possible to know for certain how things may turn out,\u201d<\/em> he added.<\/p>\n

The prime minister noted that Belarus continues to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, and that a number of Belarusian companies assist the Russian military-industrial complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, it would be untrue to say that Belarus is staying completely out of it. The question is when, and whether, Belarus will want to become a democratic and reasonable neighbouring country that does not threaten the security of the region,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

The Lithuanian prime minister said he considers Belarus and Russia sovereign states, despite their close cooperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we see signs that Belarus\u2019s leader wants to manoeuvre between the interests of the West and Russia\u2014there is a desire to flirt with the Trump administration. But I do not know how sincere this is, or whether it is simply a negotiating and strategic position: to manoeuvre and gain benefits from both sides. Perhaps it is an imitation of certain processes.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the same time, we must not forget that Lithuania has hosted many leaders of the Belarusian opposition for a long time. Even after U.S. efforts to secure the release of opposition leaders, people who have been released or were imprisoned often come to Vilnius. So far, no significant changes in Belarus\u2019s political leadership are apparent.<\/em><\/p>\n

Therefore, I would not predict that anything will happen quickly. But I would not predict movement exclusively toward the West or exclusively toward the East either. I think Mr Lukashenka is probably comfortable with the current status quo,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n

Asked about the possible resumption of Belarusian potash shipments through the port of Klaip\u0117da, Sinkevi\u010dius said Lithuania is not currently considering such decisions. He noted that the EU\u2019s existing sanctions remain in force until February 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is always some possibility that Belarus will change its attitude and begin behaving differently from the way it has behaved so far, and then it will be possible to discuss this. But for now, there are no grounds for it, and only Belarus itself can create the necessary conditions,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevi\u010dius told Deutsche Welle in an interview that Vilnius currently sees no signs that Belarus is ready to change its policy toward its neighbours. In his view, sanctions against Belarus should remain in place until the conduct of the Belarusian authorities changes. \u201cOur intelligence agencies, of course, inform us through their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":555721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6ab7f6b009380.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Lithuanian Prime Minister: Belarus Must Create Conditions for Changing Relations with the EU"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338,143090],"tags":[143118],"class_list":["post-581984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news","category-politics","tag-belarus"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":581985,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581984\/revisions\/581985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}