Lithuanian Minister of the Interior, Vladislav Kondratovich, stated that it is worth discussing the suspension of regular passenger transportation to Belarus and Russia, LRT reports.
Павялічыць
Illustrative photo: “Nasha Niva”
Kondratovich proposed to discuss the experience of Latvia, whose authorities are seeking to completely ban bus traffic with Belarus.
“Of course, this is perhaps one of those measures. The only question is how this will affect the Belarusian regime – whether it will be painful, or perhaps it will not be very painful for them, or perhaps it will further increase hostile sentiments towards the European Union and other countries. Therefore, I believe that in this case it is really worth considering, we need to see how it will be,” the minister told the BNS agency.
Kondratovich intends to discuss this issue next week with his colleagues from Poland and Latvia in Brussels.
“We will address this issue together. Because a common solution is needed here, I believe, not only for Latvia, but also for Lithuania and Poland. We need to see what the common approach is,” he noted.
The Ministry of Transport of Latvia is already preparing a project to terminate regular routes to Belarus and Russia. According to Latvian Transport Minister Atis Švinkš, the decree will be based on security considerations and provides for the possibility of reviewing the decision if the situation changes.
The minister noted that such a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers will terminate regular passenger bus services to Russia and Belarus, revoke existing permits for carriers or refuse to renew them.
The Lithuanian government intends to declare a state of emergency next week due to the threats posed by smuggled balloons from Belarus. At the same time, the opposition proposes to declare not a state of emergency, but a state of emergency.
Flights of smuggled balloons from Belarus have already affected the operation of Vilnius Airport several times in recent months.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 599 incursions of smuggled balloons and 197 drones into Lithuanian airspace have been recorded this year. These attacks disrupted 320 flights, affected 47,000 passengers and led to the closure of airports for almost 60 hours.
In this regard, after Vilnius restricted the operation of border crossing points with Belarus for several weeks, Minsk refuses to release heavy vehicles registered in Lithuania. The Lithuanian leadership considers these actions a hybrid attack by the Belarusian authorities.