On Wednesday, Oct. 29, the Lithuanian government declared that Monday’s border closure with Belarus would remain in place until Nov. 30, at which point the Cabinet would decide whether to extend the measure. Lithuania closed the border with Belarus on Oct. 27, after what it claims were dozens of balloons smuggling cigarettes from Belarus entered the country’s airspace. The closure did not apply to transit to and from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
However, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told LRT Radio that the government “retains the possibility to close [Kaliningrad] transit if it is needed to ensure our security.” Over the weekend, President Gitanas Nausėda also reportedly proposed limiting the transport of Belarusian goods under the Kaliningrad transport scheme.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova identified the measure for what it is: “Russia hopes that the Lithuanian side will not resort to such a provocative step.” She reported that Russia learned about Budrys’s statement from the media, and said: “If this is true, then, first of all, we would like to remind Mr. Budrys of Lithuania’s obligations to ensure unhindered transit to/from the Kaliningrad Region, including those stemming from the joint statements of Russia and the EU dating back to 2002 and 2004.”
