The Lithuanian authorities have announced that the country has officially decided to extend the state of emergency at the border with Belarus and the Russian Kaliningrad region.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, the draft on the extension of the state emergency with Belarus and Russia was approved by the Parliament as the current one was set to expire on December 16.
The same stressed that in line with the new rules, measures at the border with Belarus and the Kaliningrad region of Russia will remain in place until March 16, 2023, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Commenting on the approval of the state of emergency extension, the Minister of Interior of Lithuania, Agnes Bilotaitė, said that these two countries, especially Russia, still present a threat to the security of Lithuania. Moreover, Minister Bilotaitė stressed that the country’s authorities are ready to respond to all kinds of provocations.
“There is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine caused by the Russian Federation – crimes against humanity are committed every day, and attacks against the energy infrastructure are intensifying. The prolonged insecure and unstable geopolitical situation continues to create conditions for the authorities of Russia and Belarus to carry out hybrid attacks and various kinds of provocations against Lithuania,” the statement of Minister Bilotaitė reads.
Minister Bilotaitė further emphasised that the country took the right decision, as according to her if Lithuania did not approve the extension of the state of emergency it would show that the war has already become the norm.
The Ministry of Interior stressed that the Belarusian regime continues to use migrants as a dorm of hybrid aggression and the same revealed that almost 11,000 migrants have been refused entry to Lithuania so far this year.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the Ministry pointed out that a stricter visa regime will continue to apply to nationals of Russia and Belarus who are permitted to apply for one. Lithuania has already suspended the visa-issuing services for Belarus and Russia. the country issues visas to nationals of these two countries only in cases when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mediates.
Lithuania is not the only country that has decided to extend the state of emergency at its border with Belarus. Earlier in November, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that Latvia has also extended the state of emergency at its border with Belarus until February 2023.
Back then, the Latvian Ministry of Interior said that the state of emergency would be extended in the municipalities of Daugavpils, Augšdaugava, Ludza, and Krāslava.