Lithuania Comments On Belarusian Security Council Vice-Secretary's Idea To 'Make Corridor' To Baltic 'By Force Of Arms'

Lithuania strengthens partnership with NATO countries.

Threats, made to Vilnius by First Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council Pavel Muraveiko, show that the sanctions are working, said a member of the European Parliament from Lithuania and permanent rapporteur on Belarus, Petras Auštryavicius, in his commentary to "Pozirk" on October 29.

Pavel Muraveiko's threats to "make the corridor" for the transit of Belarusian goods through Lithuania show that the restrictions imposed against Minsk have an impact on the economic and financial results of the state budget of Belarus, said Petras Auštryavicius.

"It's good," he said.

At the same time, he said, one should understand that "Minsk itself may not pose a military threat or risk, but it still plays in a broader sense to the music from the Kremlin, from Moscow," which means that all threats "should be analysed, decisions should be taken".

"'We are doing everything we can in Lithuania, we are strengthening our defence capabilities. The main thing is that we have a full partnership with our partners from NATO and the European Union, and this is only the beginning. Therefore, to threaten the West in general, and Lithuania is a part of the West, is very risky, even for Aliaksandr with his generals and so on. For the response would be, I think, disproportionately harsh for those who would try to do that," the MEP emphasised.

"Such statements show that there are various hawks in both Minsk and Moscow who are trying to provoke, set a higher tone, and create tension. However, they should know that we are ready to respond. And it will not be a response from Vilnius or Riga, it will be a response from Brussels and Washington. That's why we should think carefully, whether it's not scary to even think about crossing the border," Auštryavicius added.

We remind you that at a recent ideological seminar in the Minsk city executive committee, vice-secretary of the Security Council Pavel Muraveiko was indignant that Lithuania "blocked transit from Belarus" - apparently, it means the transit of goods through the Lithuanian territory to Kaliningrad region of Russia ("Suvalki Gap"), as well as the transit and transshipment of Belarusian fertilizers in Lithuanian ports. These restrictions were introduced in February 2022, a year earlier Lithuania had banned the transit and transshipment of oil products from Belarus.

"Lithuania has actually banned us from moving our goods across the border. According to all norms of international law, such a step is an economic aggression. From the point of view of banal logic, we have every reason to make a vital corridor for us by force of arms," said the representative of the Security Council.

According to him, "in other conditions," no one in the world would not even condemn Belarus for such actions. However, in the current conditions, Belarus probably won't risk "breaking through the corridor" because of the "unprecedented pressure from the West," explained the military officer.