{"id":164601,"date":"2025-11-18T15:38:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T12:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"belarusian-lithuanian-officials-meet-to-address-border-closure","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian, Lithuanian officials meet to address border closure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Lithuanian Border Service)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>November 18, <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Lithuanian border control officials have urged their Belarusian counterparts to take proactive measures against cigarette smuggling by air, <em>Delfi<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Border officials from both countries held their first technical meeting today at the Lavori\u0161k\u0117s checkpoint, marking the first formal contact since Lithuania closed all border crossings on October 29 in response to repeated incursions by cigarette-smuggling balloons launched from Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the talks, Lithuanian officials pressed Minsk to allow Lithuanian trucks currently stranded in Belarus to leave the country. The meeting also addressed the ongoing flow of irregular migration from Belarus, which has shown no signs of easing since 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahead of the talks, Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, said Vilnius might reopen border checkpoints earlier than the planned date of November 30. The Lithuanian government is set to discuss the matter tomorrow, with Motuzas describing today\u2019s technical meeting as a key factor in shaping the final decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Monday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister K\u0119stutis Budrys also suggested that an earlier reopening was possible, emphasizing that Lithuania\u2019s priority remained countering hybrid threats and pressuring Minsk to change its behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, 1,265 Lithuania-registered trucks are stranded in Belarus as a result of the one-month border closure imposed by Vilnius on October 29. Following the closure, Minsk barred Lithuanian trucks from leaving Belarus and directed them to guarded parking areas. Lithuania has accused Belarus of further escalating tensions by seizing the trucks and preventing their departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fury_gtk-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fury_gtk-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fury_gtk-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fury_gtk-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fury_gtk-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fury_gtk.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u042d\u043a\u043e\u043d\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u042d\u043a\u043e\u043d\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043a\u0430, \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Lithuanian MP says Vilnius may reopen Belarus border ahead of November 30<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">November 18, Pozirk. Vilnius may reopen the shared border with Belarus ahead of the planned date of November 30, Lithuania\u2019s TV3 reported, citing Remigijus Motuzas, chair of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs. The border closure affected international cargoes from &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/164537\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>November 18, Pozirk. Lithuanian border control officials have urged their Belarusian counterparts to take proactive measures against cigarette smuggling by air, Delfi reported. Border officials from both countries held their first technical meeting today at the Lavori\u0161k\u0117s checkpoint, marking the first formal contact since Lithuania closed all border crossings on October 29 in response to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":159055,"template":"","rubric":[21,16,30],"class_list":["post-164601","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-economy","rubric-politics","rubric-security"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarusian, Lithuanian officials meet to address border closure | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"November 18, Pozirk. Lithuanian border control officials have urged their Belarusian counterparts to take proactive measures against cigarette smuggling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belarusian, Lithuanian officials meet to address border closure | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"November 18, Pozirk. Lithuanian border control officials have urged their Belarusian counterparts to take proactive measures against cigarette smuggling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/\"},\"headline\":\"Belarusian, Lithuanian officials meet to address border closure\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-18T12:38:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/\"},\"wordCount\":248,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/\",\"name\":\"Belarusian, Lithuanian officials meet to address border closure | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164601\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sigarety_shary_sogg-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-18T12:38:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"November 18, Pozirk. 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