Nauseda Pledged To Push Hard For The Extension Of Sanctions Against Lukashenko's Regime

The Lithuanian president said that there would be no concessions to Minsk from the EU.

On the eve of the February decision of the European Union on sanctions, Gitanas Nauseda declared an uncompromising position. Against the background of provocations with balloons, which paralyzed the work of Vilnius airport, and rumors about behind-the-scenes agreements between Washington and Minsk, the Lithuanian president said: there will be no concessions.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he would be among those who would most resolutely demand the extension of sanctions against Belarus.

"I will be among those who will most strongly demand the extension of these sanctions," the head of state said Tuesday, LRT wrote.

Nauseda said the Belarusian regime remains a close ally of Russia, continues to arrest political prisoners and carries out hybrid attacks using balloons carrying contraband.

The latest incident involving the launch of such balloons was recorded last week, with Vilnius airport having to suspend operations three times on Tuesday.

The Lithuanian president previously noted that after the incident, the U.S. side took a tough stance against the Minsk regime, showing that such actions could hinder the improvement of bilateral relations We'll see what conclusions will be drawn from this. However, if the Belarusian regime seeks at least to some extent to normalize relations - I'm not talking with the European Union, but at least with the United States - it should certainly avoid such signs of escalation," Nauseda stressed.

In mid-December, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy John Cole and Alexander Lukashenko's administration agreed to release some political prisoners and lift sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilizers. Then political observers started speculating about the possibility of Washington's pressure on Lithuania to resume transit of these fertilizers through the port of Klaipeda.

According to Nauseda, there are no discussions with the U.S. about possible easing of sanctions, and Washington has never asked for it under any pretext. The President also urged politicians to talk less about hypothetical scenarios of dialog with Minsk.

"As for the statement of Mr. [Chairman of the Seimas Foreign Affairs Committee Remigijus] Motuzas, it was probably a "what would be if" kind of reasoning. Today it is simply not very responsible to speculate about what would have happened if it had been, because we have the situation that we have. It is real, not hypothetical and unacceptable for us," he said.

The Lithuanian president commented on Motuzas' statement that Vilnius was discussing the possible content of negotiations with Belarus and options for holding them on neutral territory.

Minsk has been seeking a meeting at the level of foreign ministers or vice-ministers since last year, while the work of Vilnius airport has repeatedly had to be stopped due to balloons with contraband, and Lithuania responded by closing the border with Belarus for some time.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kjastutis Budrys earlier said that by putting pressure on Lithuania, the Minsk regime seeks international legitimization, and emphasized that such talks are not considered.

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