Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and John Coale, who was nominated yesterday as Special Envoy to Belarus, during his visit to Washington on November 10. Both meetings focused on the Belarusian issue.
In his conversation with Rubio, Budrys expressed gratitude to the United States for its solidarity with Lithuania and for its principled response to violations of Lithuanian airspace by Belarus, as well as to the growing hybrid threats posed by the Russian and Belarusian regimes.
Budrys said that authoritarian regimes are testing NATO’s borders and that a united response and credible deterrence are needed to prevent further escalation. He called on the United States and Europe to continue coordinating sanctions against Belarus and Russia, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
Кястутис Будрис и Марко Рубио. Фото: МИД Литвы
During his meeting with Coale, Budrys described the actions of the Belarusian authorities as hybrid attacks that threaten aviation safety.
“Despite all the measures taken by Lithuania and international pressure, the Belarusian regime continues hybrid attacks against Lithuania, thereby posing a threat to international aviation safety and increasing regional tension. It is therefore especially important to step up pressure on the regime and strengthen sanctions,” Budrys said.
Budrys informed Coale about violations of Lithuanian airspace by weather balloons and about flows of illegal migrants. He emphasized that Belarus’s actions are deliberate and hostile. The meeting also addressed Belarus’s role in supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Budrys thanked the United States for its solidarity with Lithuania in the context of hybrid attacks from Belarus.
On October 28, Coale stated that the United States stands in solidarity with Lithuania over the incursion of weather balloons from Belarus and urged Minsk to prevent such incidents in the future.