„We cannot break off relations. We cannot build a Berlin wall at our border. Relations have to be improved,“ said MEP Tomaszewski, leader of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS).
„There must be a discussion. Solutions must not be imposed from somewhere. Our economy and our people are suffering very much because of this, their right of free movement to meet their families is limited,“ he claimed, speaking about residents of border areas.
Moreover, the politician expects the LLRA-KŠS to succeed in Lithuanian parliamentary elections this autumn and to participate in shaping the next ruling majority.
Relations between Lithuania and Belarus deteriorated after the rigged 2020 Belarusian election in which Alexander Lukashenko declared victory. Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had to flee Belarus for Lithuania due to security reasons, while authorities cracked down on protesters who disputed the election outcome.
In May 2021, a Ryanair Flight 4978 flying from Greece to Lithuania was forced to change course over a fake bomb threat and land in Belarus. This was done so that the Minsk regime could arrest opposition journalist Roman Protasevich and his then girlfriend Sofia Sapega.
The EU vowed to impose sanctions on Minsk over the Ryanair incident, but Lukashenko threatened to flood Europe with migrants and drugs in return. „We stopped drugs and migrants. Now you will eat them and catch them yourselves,“ he declared at the time.
In July 2021, Belarus indeed caused a migrant crisis that has continued since. It allowed irregular migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia to arrive in Belarus and then directed them towards the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, all EU countries. Since then, Lithuania has thwarted more than 22 thousand illegal border crossings.
Moreover, Belarus allowed its territory to be used by Russian forces when the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.