The Lithuanian parliament still lacks votes to tighten the existing restrictions on Belarusian citizens and put them on par with those imposed on Russians, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK), says.
Registered in December, the amendments propose restricting the issuance of residence permits for Belarusians, except for highly qualified workers, but they would also make it easier for Russian and Belarusian democrats to apply for national visas on humanitarian grounds.
“This is the compromise we propose. So far, there are no votes in the Seimas to do so,” Kasčiūnas told TV3 on Monday.
Since last spring, Lithuania has a law in place on restrictive measures for Russian and Belarusian citizens, but the latter are subject to fewer of them.
Until May 3, the Russians and Belarusians are facing restrictions on obtaining Lithuanian visas and electronic resident status, but additional difficulties are also in place for Russian citizens regarding their entry to Lithuania, the purchase of real estate, and their applications for residence permits in Lithuania are temporarily rejected.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda was of the position that Belarusian citizens should be subject to the same sanctions as Russians, but the Seimas overrode his veto and introduced softer restrictions for Belarusian citizens.
The amendments on the same restrictions for Russians and Belarusians were registered in December 2023 by Kasčiūnas, Seimas Deputy Speaker Paulius Saudargas, and another conservative MP Audronius Ažubalis.
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