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Lithuania said on Wednesday that it will keep the country’s border under its control belarus The capital’s airport has been closed for a month after balloons used to smuggle cigarettes across the border caused repeated disruptions, although there will be some relaxations.
Two border crossings with Belarus were closed last week after air traffic was suspended following balloon sightings. vilnius Airport on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Lithuanian authorities consider the balloon disruption a deliberate act by Russia-ally Belarus. Lithuania is a member of NATO and the European Union, on the eastern side of the Western alliance, and borders Russia. Kaliningrad exclave as well as Belarus.
Lithuania’s cabinet decided on Wednesday that the crossing at Salsininkai will be completely closed and the other crossing in Medininkai, near Vilnius, will be restricted for the next month, BNS news agency reports.
Some Lithuanian and EU citizens will still be allowed to pass through Medininkai. Officials have also said that Russians who have a transit document that allows them to travel to Kaliningrad will also be allowed.
“We believe that these measures should send a clear message to our unfriendly neighbor, which is making no efforts to resolve the problem,” Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovich was quoted as saying by BNS during a cabinet meeting.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko On Tuesday he described Lithuania’s move to close the border as a “crazy scam” and part of a “hybrid war” against his country. He suggested that Vilnius needed to tackle trafficking itself.
“If air balloons filled with cigarettes are flying up there, I think they need to address the issue on their end,” he said. “They don’t just fly off somewhere – someone is taking them there, someone has an interest in it. They need to find the people responsible and nip these things in the bud.”
Lukashenko said Belarus would apologize if his involvement was proven.