Belarus

The Lithuanian government has suspended 5.8 million euros in payments to Belarus under EU-funded programs following Belarusian law enforcement's crackdown on peaceful protesters after the rigged presidential in the country, Lithuania's Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Friday it is recalling the country's ambassadors to Lithuania and Poland for consultations.

With the European Union’s (EU) leaders having agreed on sanctions against the Belarusian regime, a similar move may now be expected from the United States, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said.

377 Belarusian citizens have been allowed to come to Lithuania on humanitarian grounds but only 82 have used the opportunity so far, and another 32 Belarusian have asked for asylum upon arrival to Lithuania, the Interior Ministry told BNS on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron believes that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) could undertake a mediation mission in Belarus in coming weeks.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Friday expanded sanctions against Belarusian regime officials responsible for vote-rigging and violence against peaceful protesters.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said on Thursday that sanctions against some officials of the Alexander Lukashenko regime are too weak a response to the events in Belarus, adding that the European Union must help the victims of repression.

Belarusians living in Lithuania call Alexander Lukashenko's secret inauguration on Wednesday a farce and continue to demand the authoritarian leader's resignation.

Lithuanian haulage companies are facing delays and increased costs after Belarus has stepped up border checks on Lithuanian-registered trucks, the president of the national road carriers' association Linava has said.

Главный оппонент Александра Лукашенко на прошедших в августе выборах президента Беларуси Светлана Тихановская призвала ЕС как можно быстрее ввести санкции против белорусских чиновников и заявила, что, если понадобится, оппозиция будет проводить акции протеста в течение нескольких лет.

Lithuania is considering facilitating conditions for Belarusian businesses to move to Lithuania by letting them open not only bank accounts while establishing an enterprise in Lithuania but also open accounts with e-money institutions, Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation Marius Skuodis says, add...

Lithuania's Foreign Ministry plans to facilitate visa issuance for Belarusian citizens.

Lithuania has to date granted entry to 205 Belarusian nationals for special humanitarian reasons, including 54 who are already in the country, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is calling on the European Union to impose sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko and is planning to initiate European discussions on economic support to Belarus after the authoritarian regime falls.

The Lithuanian parliament adopted on Thursday a resolution calling on the international community to respond to the events in Belarus and prevent Russia from deciding the political course of the country.

Diplomats from Lithuania and other EU member states have on Wednesday arrived in Nobel Literature Price laureate Svetlana Alexievich's apartment in Minsk to protect her from possible detention, Lithuanian Ambassador to Minsk Andrius Pulokas told BNS.

Lithuania and Ukraine are holding the same position on the situation in Belarus and are calling for a new fair election in the neighboring country, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Monday evening.

Over 50 people from Belarus have arrived in Lithuania in the wake of the neighboring country's presidential election, fearing persecution and danger at home.

EU member states' different positions on Belarus undermine the country's chances of becoming democratic and do not contribute to regional stability, Ramunas Karbauskis, leader of the ruling Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, said in a Facebook post.

The majority of Lithuanian political experts believe the ongoing protests in Belarus will gradually die down or will be suppressed and Alexander Lukashenko will stay in power, according to the results of a survey presented by the Easter Europe Studies Center on Friday.