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The Ministry of Interior of Lithuania has proposed that the country extends its current state of emergency along the border with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad regions for another month.
Taking into account the current situation, the Ministry said that the state of emergency should get extended until April 17 and stressed that all the measures that have been effective until now should remain in place, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Commenting on the matter, the Lithuanian Minister of Interior, Agnė Bilotaitė, said that the extension of this measure is necessary in order to protect public safety and ensure national security.
The same condemned the actions of Belarus and Russia and called them to stop crimes against humanity and other violation.
“Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine has been going on for a year – crimes against humanity, war crimes, and violations of international law continue to be committed. We propose to extend the state of emergency because, during a tense geopolitical situation, we must ensure public safety, constitutional order and national security,” Minister Bilotaitė stated.
The Ministry explained that for as long as the state of emergency remains in place, the country would continue to apply strict measures and carry out border checks.
Moreover, it pointed out that Lithuania will continue to apply a stricter visa regime for all citizens of Russia and Belarus. Lithuania has already suspended the issuance of visas for citizens of the two countries, and those permitted to apply for a visa in exceptional cases have to meet strict rules.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the Ministry assured its citizens that it will not cause any inconveniences for them and it stressed that the implementation of this draft resolution is aimed at managing threats.
Once the proposal of the Ministry gets approved, the authorities will officially extend the state of emergency along the border with Belarus and Kaliningrad region. Moreover, once the measure ends in April, the authorities may decide to extend it again if the situation does not improve.
Previously, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that Lithuania has also ended border cooperation with Belarus. Earlier in January, the Lithuanian Ministry of Interior said that it had decided to end its agreement with Belarus due to the current geopolitical situation.
The Ministry said that Lithuania condemns the instrumentalisation of migrants by the country’s regime and its involvement in the war against Ukraine.
Lithuania also suspended payments to Belarus and its partner for ongoing cross-border cooperation programme projects.