Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday postponed consideration of a resolution that would label actions by neighbouring Belarus as a hybrid attack, with the parliament speaker saying lawmakers want to avoid escalating tensions.
“Today in the parliament we postponed adoption of the resolution we had prepared so that we could discuss different options,” Speaker Juozas Olekas told LRT TV on Tuesday night.
“Security, including economic security, is not always achieved through a tough stance alone. It can also be pursued through diplomatic channels,” he said.
The draft resolution, submitted by lawmakers from both the ruling coalition and the opposition, was scheduled to be presented Tuesday but was removed from the agenda of the plenary session.
The document states that the use of weather balloons carrying contraband, unmanned aerial vehicles and other technical means from Belarusian territory against Lithuania constitutes a “hybrid attack”. It calls on Lithuanian institutions to treat such actions as an integrated hostile operation against the Lithuanian state.
The resolution also urges the government to coordinate a joint response with neighbouring European Union countries. Proposed measures include possible border closures, restrictions on regular travel across the Belarusian border, limits on organised travel to or from EU countries, and curbs on the acquisition of real estate within the bloc.
Officials said they hope tensions will ease following a recent meeting between John Coale and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. After the meeting, the US president’s envoy said Lukashenko had promised to stop weather balloons flying from Belarus into Lithuania.
Last weekend, Belarus released 123 prisoners in exchange for a US decision to lift sanctions on Belarusian fertilisers.
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