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According to the ministry, Belarusian officials demanded the removal of diplomatic stamps and the opening of the car at the Medininkai border crossing. When the Lithuanian diplomatic couriers did not agree to this requirement, the car was forced to turn around and return to the territory of Lithuania.
“The situation at the border was extremely tense,” he added. 15 minutes a diplomatic source said, but has not yet provided further details about the incident.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was expressing a strong protest against the unprecedented arrest of a Lithuanian car carrying diplomatic mail at the Lithuanian-Belarusian state border.
It’s a raging dictatorship in the heart of Europe
“The arrest of a car carrying diplomatic mail at the state border is a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Belarus has once again demonstrated that the rules of the civilized world no longer exist for this state. This is a dictatorship furious in the center of Europe, “said Chancellor Gabrielius Landsbergis.
A representative of the Belarusian embassy was urgently summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Friday and handed over a protest note.
Also read: In the context of the Belarus scandal: what is the diplomatic courier and why is it inviolable?
L. Kasčiūnas: this is a challenge for the whole EU
Chairman of the Defense and National Security Committee of Seimas Laurynas Kasčiūnas 15 minutes He said Friday that such provocations must be prepared for – there will be.
“Fashion will provoke provocations, here is the fact,” stressed the conservative.
According to L. Kasčiūnas, everything that is happening with Belarus is a challenge not only for Lithuania, but also for the entire European Union.
Žygimantas Gedvila / 15min photo / Laurynas Kasčiūnas
This must be seen in the European context of sanctions, in the search for a sanctions mechanism that is now realistic. However, the regime is no longer only repressive but also provocative. That must be understood by the entire West. That, I think, is the essential message. I think there must be a response across the EU, “he said.
Increasing tensions
The incident took place amid growing tensions between the West and Belarus over the landing of a Ryanair plane and the arrest of journalist Roman Protasevičius and his girlfriend.
European Union ambassadors agreed on Friday on sanctions that prohibit Belarusian carriers from flying over EU territory.
EU representatives are also working on another sanctions package. More regime officials may be blacklisted and Minsk may be subject to sectoral economic sanctions.
In Lithuania, threats from the Belarusian regime to open the border to illegal immigrants from countries such as Iraq and Syria are of great concern.
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