According to the Lithuanian Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis, Vilnius is closely watching situation in Belarus after Alexander Lukashenko claimed the country would be bolstering its military presence on the Polish and Lithuanian borders.
Amid continuing mass protests against vote-rigging and police violence in Belarus, Lukashenko said on Saturday that he was worried about NATO's military exercises in neighbouring Lithuania and Poland.
He said he had ordered relocating an airborne brigade from Vitebsk to Grodno near the Polish and Lithuanian borders.
"The crisis in Belarus is political, and any statements by Belarusian authorities about foreign interference or threats are nothing more than an attempt to find someone to blame and justify their actions in the eyes of the Belarusian people and the international community," Karoblis told BNS on Sunday.
He dismissed Belarusian authorities' statements about a threat posed by neighbouring countries as an attempt to put the blame elsewhere and justify their actions.
"As to the relocation of additional units of the Belarusian Armed Forces to Grodno, it has been only a statement so far; we'll be watching closely what action follows," he added.
Karoblis noted that "Lithuania has been a NATO member for 16 years now."
"International exercises have been taking place in our territory for years. This year, they are also taking place in the normal routine mode," the minister said.
"The purpose of all exercises and any deployment of foreign forces to Lithuania is deterrence and defence. Lithuania poses no military threat to Belarus," he added.
Belarus' opposition staged the largest demonstration in the country's history against Lukashenko's rule on Sunday.
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