Speaking about the move made by Belarus, Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė stated that Minsk’s actions are unpredictable, but such retaliation over the closure of border checkpoints could have been expected.
“It is a criminal regime. What has been done against us as a country is an organised hybrid attack, taking advantage of migrants and all other provocations,” Bilotaitė said Friday.
Last year, Lithuania closed two out of six border checkpoints with Belarus, followed by two more on 1 March 2024. The Government stated that this had to be done in order to address national security threats, tackle the smuggling of goods from Belarus to Lithuania and solve international sanction circumvention.
Meanwhile, Belarus announced on 14 March that it was halting Lithuanian imports, including food and alcohol, apparel, household appliances, car parts and building materials.