People working with classified information in Lithuania will be barred from travelling to Russia, Belarus and other countries that pose a threat, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the country’s National Crisis Management Center (NKVC) has said.
“The list of countries will be produced by the State Security Department in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry,” he told reporters on Friday after a meeting of the government’s National Security Commission.
The ban will be provided for in the amendments to the Law on State Secrets and Official Secrets, which are being drafted by the Defence Ministry.
“That law will provide for travel bans for our citizens with permits (to work with classified information) in order to protect them and state information,” the head of the NKVC said, adding that the ban would affect around 56,000 people.
Such decisions have been made in view of the Belarusian intelligence services stepping up their activities at the border, interrogating Lithuanian citizens at border checkpoints, and forcing them to cooperate through blackmail and psychological pressure, the NKVC said.
The government commission also approved a system of indicators for assessing threats and making decisions on border control.
“The system has several components. These components are mainly related to military risks, but also have to do with information attacks, border incidents, and illegal migration flows,” Vitkauskas said.
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