Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys called on the EU to impose new sanctions against Belarus after a wave of balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes flew over the country. He called it part of the Belarusian regime’s hybrid warfare and emphasized the need for a decisive and coordinated response from the European Union, UNN reports with reference to Politico.
Details
The EU must impose new trade restrictions against Belarus to degrade its military industry and deprive it of the ability to wage hybrid warfare.
– the Lithuanian Foreign Minister warned on Monday.
In an interview with Politico just hours after the Lithuanian border with Belarus was closed due to the flight of huge balloons with smuggled cigarettes, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said that such incursions must have consequences, even if they do not pose an immediate security threat.
Dozens of balloons led to flight cancellations, and the military was ordered to shoot down foreign objects.
We must expand the sanctions regime against Belarus, including hybrid activities as one of the reasons. We must synchronize sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and there are some sectoral sanctions where we are not synchronized, for example, aviation.
– he emphasized.
There are fears that Belarus, an ally of Moscow, has become a hub for circumventing sanctions on aircraft parts and other critical components that the Kremlin is trying to obtain despite restrictions imposed by the EU and its Western partners, the publication quotes the official.
At the same time, Budrys continued, the EU should “take seriously” plans to impose tariffs on the remaining Belarusian exports to the bloc, calling for new punitive duties “on Belarusian exports and goods, as well as on Russian ones.”
According to the Lithuanian government, the balloon incursions are a tactical ploy in a “hybrid war” against the West, which “for many years has also faced thousands of potential migrants brought and smuggled to the border to try to destabilize the Baltic states and Poland.”
According to Budrys, Lithuania will now work with NATO and the EU on a joint response.
Addition
Earlier incursions of military aircraft and drones into EU airspace prompted the development of a bloc-wide air defense program known as the “drone wall.” Although the project did not receive immediate support, work on long-term strengthening of joint capabilities continues, and Lithuania and other border countries are pushing for accelerated measures.
Belarusians are helping us with this. They are simply sending additional strong arguments and examples of why we need this and what we need. And our argument is that if we don’t stop them here, they will do it elsewhere.
– Budrys ironically remarked.
Although the 19th package of EU sanctions imposed against Moscow includes new restrictions for Belarusian companies and will come into force in the coming weeks, experts warn that circumvention of these sanctions remains possible, allowing both countries to maintain their war economies.
Earlier, UNN wrote that Lithuania closed Vilnius airport four times last week after balloons invaded its airspace, and each time temporarily closed border crossings with Belarus in response to these incidents.
Lithuania said that the balloons were sent by smugglers carrying contraband cigarettes, but also accused Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenka, a close ally of Kremlin head Vladimir Putin, of not stopping this practice.