Belarus has extended the visa-free regime for Lithuanian and Latvian citizens until the end of 2022, the country’s foreign ministry has announced.
Belarus first introduced a month-long visa-free regime for Lithuanian and Latvian citizens in mid-April. Then, the Lithuanian State Security Department warned that Russian and Belarusian intelligence services were stepping up their efforts to recruit Lithuanian citizens coming to the neighbouring country.
The number of people travelling from Lithuania to Belarus has tripled since the introduction of the visa-free regime, Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, said on Monday.
Politicians in Vilnius are now considering launching a social campaign to warn those travelling to Belarus of potential threats.
“A three-fold increase in flows from Lithuania means a three-fold increase in the risk of someone’s [...] weaknesses or other details of life being used [by Belarus’ authorities],” Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence, told reporters on Monday.
“There are risks and they have to be managed. I believe we should think about some kind of social campaign,” he added.
The average number of people crossing from Belarus into Lithuania rose to 1,500 in May, up from around 450 in April.
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