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Lithuanian PM adviser expects border with Belarus to open sooner than planned

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MINSK, 17 November (BelTA) – Adviser to the Lithuanian Prime Minister Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas has been quoted by Lithuanian mass media as saying that the border with Belarus may be reopened sooner than the initial plans specified, BelTA has learned.

Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas said: “If we see that the situation allows doing it, then borders may be opened even sooner than intended.”

However, Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas gave no clear answer to the question of whether the border can be reopened this week. “I cannot confirm that the borders with Belarus will be opened this week,” the Lithuanian prime minister’s adviser noted. In his words, the decision will be made taking into account the existing situation.

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kestutis Budrys stated previously that the possibility of opening the border with Belarus before the previously mentioned time should be considered. “I think it is worth considering,” he told reporters when asked whether border crossings at the border with Belarus might be reopened by 30 November.

The 15min.lt quoted its own sources, indicating that the border with Belarus might be opened as early as this week. According to the website, the Lithuanian government may make the decision after negotiations with the Belarusian side that are scheduled for 18 November.

Representatives of Lithuanian shipping companies have been repeatedly quoted by Lithuanian mass media as saying that the closure of the border with Belarus had resulted in massive losses for the shipping industry. They threatened to stage protests both in Lithuania and in Brussels in the absence of the open border and in the absence of prompt decisions on the part of the Lithuanian government to overcome the crisis. Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene referred to the position of the Lithuanian freight carriers as exaggerated emotional background. She said that Lithuanian shipping companies should have prepared for such situations in advance and should have assessed the risks on their own.

On 29 October the Lithuanian government authorized closing the border crossings at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border till 30 November. The border crossing Salcininkai (Benyakoni on the Belarusian side) is closed to all traffic while the border crossing Medininkai (Kamenny Log on the Belarusian side) is still open to individuals, for whom exceptions have been made.

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