Łukašenka lashes out against Lithuania

December 19, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka declared his refusal to make concessions to Lithuania as he addressed the seventh All-Belarusian People’s Assembly in Minsk yesterday.

The politician accused Vilnius of changing its tone after the US delegation’s visit to Minsk on December 12 and 13. “They expected the Americans to put pressure on us. And they [the delegation] raised this issue [about Lithuanian trucks blocked in Belarus],” the Belarusian ruler said, claiming that the US delegation accepted his arguments in the dispute with Lithuania.

“Where can we compromise? We have already compromised as much as we can. We cannot go any further. They [Lithuanians] must understand perfectly well that no Germans or Americans will fight for them in case of a conflict,” Łukašenka said.

“They’ve already annoyed us and Russians in particular,” he continued. “Now it’s about Kaliningrad. . . but the people of Kaliningrad are not strangers to us. So, well, we’re putting up with it. We’re discussing this issue with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and. . .  we wouldn’t want our patience to run out at some point,” he added.

The politician also accused Vilnius of plotting a conflict, noting that “it won’t take long to deal with Lithuania, by any means necessary.”

Diplomatic solutions will emerge once “the Lithuanian people change the government again, and normal, sane people will come [to power]: workers, peasants and others instead of these charlatans who do represent no one,” he claimed.

Tensions between Belarus and Lithuania linked to cigarette-smuggling balloon incursions have been rising since mid-October, forcing Lithuanian authorities to briefly close the border on several occasions, suspend operations at Vilnius Airport and declare a state of emergency (extreme situation) in response to what it called “a hybrid attack from Belarus.”

Nearly 200 Lithuanian trucks are stranded on Belarusian territory since the border closure from October 29 to November 20.

Minsk pushes for consultations between the countries’ foreign ministries, while Lithuania views possible talks as an effort to break the international isolation of Łukašenka’s regime and potentially pave the way for easing sanctions.

Vilnius has ignored Minsk’s appeals for direct diplomatic talks because it significantly downgraded official contacts after what it called the rigged 2020 presidential election in Belarus.

Politics Security

Politics, Security

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