{"id":164970,"date":"2025-11-20T15:34:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T12:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164970\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"belarus-foreign-ministry-offers-consultations-to-vilnius","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/164970\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus\u2019 foreign ministry offers consultations to Vilnius"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

November 20, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Minsk has proposed holding consultations between the Belarusian and Lithuanian foreign ministries to develop a mechanism that would ensure stable border-crossing operations and prevent future closures, Rus\u0142an Varanko\u016d, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign office, said on November 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal came on the same day Lithuania reopened the Medininkai\u2013Kamienny \u0141oh and \u0160al\u010dininkai\u2013Bieniakoni border crossings after keeping them closed for three weeks, leaving more than 1,200 trucks stranded in Belarus amid tensions over incursions by cigarette-smuggling balloons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBelarus and Lithuania need a border that unites rather than divides. Now everything depends on Vilnius\u2019s decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also criticized Lithuania\u2019s late-October decision to shut all border checkpoints as \u201cone-sided,\u201d \u201cpoliticized\u201d and a violation of established procedures for international relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the bilateral agreement governing border checkpoints, notification must be given between one and five days in advance, but that was not done,\u201d he said. \u201cLithuania ignores its international legal commitments and makes no secret of the fact that it can close the border again at any moment. This creates risks for thousands of citizens and organizations,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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