The possibility of a terrorist attack in Lithuania remains low, the country’s State Security Department (VSD) said on Thursday in response to the recent attack in Russia.
According to the VSD, Thursday’s meeting of its counter-terrorism working group discussed “the evolving terrorism situation in Europe, last week’s terrorist attack in Russia and the possible impact on the security situation in Lithuania”.
“The meeting concluded that there is currently no evidence of any plans to carry out an attack in Lithuania, so the threat level of a terrorist attack remains low,” the VSD said.
The group also discussed the growing migration from Central Asia to Lithuania and the potential risk of radical Islamism.
According to the Migration Department, the Central Asian community in Lithuania has grown more than 10-fold over the last three years, from 2,000 to more than 23,000. Among them, about 8,000 have come from Uzbekistan, about 6,000 from Kyrgyzstan and some 5,700 from Tajikistan.
Many of them have come on work permits, and some on student visas.
The VSD says it has identified individuals with radical Islamist views among the recent arrivals. Several of them have been declared a threat to national security, and in some cases recommendations have been given not to issue a visa or temporary residence permit in Lithuania.
According to the VSD, no persons with terrorist intentions have been identified among Central Asian arrivals in Lithuania.
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