Vilnius insists on clear, verifiable steps before any thaw with Minsk. The prime minister named security and migration measures as preconditions.
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Inga Ruginene stated that her country will not seek closer ties with Belarus until Minsk demonstrates goodwill.
Conditions for Lithuania’s dialogue with Belarus
According to LRT, the prime minister expressed this position during a public statement.
We are not changing our position, and the government’s stance is clear. We are ready for dialogue, but we want to see goodwill from the other side.
– Inga Ruginene
The Lithuanian prime minister’s comments came after this week the president’s chief adviser on national security, Deividas Matulionis, suggested that a dialogue with Belarus at a lower political level was being considered.
Ruginene emphasized that any normalization of relations with Minsk would not mean a return to the previous level of mutual relations.
We are talking about the possibility of normalization through exchanging certain technical information, as other countries do. But even for this, the proper circumstances and conditions are needed, which the other side must observe.
– Inga Ruginene
According to the prime minister, Lithuania expects Minsk to make long-term decisions regarding balloons used for smuggling, illegal migration, and trucks detained in Belarus.
These seem like simple, everyday conditions, especially since they arose as a result of Belarus’s own actions. After they are fulfilled, we will, without a doubt, be able to discuss a meeting to exchange information.
– Inga Ruginene
According to LRT, Lithuania plans to relocate its civil defense stockpiles, which are still near the border with Belarus, to safer locations by 2027.
The government emphasizes that further dialogue is possible only if Minsk demonstrates goodwill and takes concrete steps toward security and stability in the region.