The Lithuanian government has decided to reopen the border with Belarus earlier than scheduled, officials announced on Wednesday.
The Šalčininkai–Benekainys and Medininkai–Kamenyj Log crossing points had been temporarily closed for more than two weeks. Their operations will resume from Thursday.
Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius said at a cabinet meeting that, following the National Security Commission’s decisions on November 18, the circumstances had changed and the border restrictions imposed on October 29 were no longer necessary to ensure domestic security.
“It is therefore appropriate to lift the restrictions on crossing the border set out in the government resolution,” he said.
The cabinet had closed the border on October 30 for a month, with some exceptions, in response to the threat posed by smuggling balloons to civil aviation. The Šalčininkai–Benekainys checkpoint was completely closed, while crossings at Medininkai–Kamenyj Log were restricted.
Following Poland’s reopening of two border points with Belarus on Monday, technical talks between Lithuanian and Belarusian border guards took place on Tuesday to discuss the return of lorries stranded in Belarus, as well as issues of smuggling and migration.
Rustamas Liubajevas, head of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), said Belarus had expressed a willingness to cooperate, and Lithuanian border guards urged their counterparts to halt smuggling and allow Lithuanian trucks held in Belarus to return home.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
