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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said yesterday that Belarus is closing the border with Lithuania and Poland, and that the border with Ukraine will be “reinforced.” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said he was alarmed by the statements about the transfer of the Belarusian army to the borders.
The statements by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on closing the border and strengthening its protection are inadequate, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said on the air of the LRT television channel.
“There have been similar statements before, about the redirection of goods to other ports, then an amendment was made that if Russia proposes the same conditions and things like that. I think now we also have to wait, what does this mean? Does this mean closing borders for goods – people, or something else, “Linkevicius said.
He warned that in a situation where the economy of a neighboring country “is on the verge of bankruptcy,” all these steps must be taken in a balanced and responsible manner so as not to harm them.
The Lithuanian foreign minister stressed that he was alarmed by the statements about the transfer of the army to the borders.
“There were statements that half the army was sent to monitor the borders with the West, it seems that someone is threatening from here, someone is going to attack. This is an inappropriate response to the situation of an inappropriate person,” Linkevičius added.
On September 17, during a speech at a women’s forum in Minsk, Lukashenko said that Belarus was closing the border with Lithuania and Poland, the border with Ukraine would be “strengthened.”
“Therefore, we are forced to withdraw the troops from the streets, as I have already said, to put half the army in arms and close the state border with the West, mainly with Lithuania and Poland. We are forced to strengthen the state border, with the greatest regret, with our fraternal Ukraine, “he added. – he said.
Mass protests have been going on in Belarus since August 9. The protesters believe the results of the presidential elections are falsified and are demanding re-elections. According to official data, Lukashenka won with 80.1% of the voters. Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya came in second with 10.1% of the vote. At the same time, alternative exit polls showed the opposite picture: Tikhanovskaya’s confident victory.
The Belarusian security forces violently dispersed the demonstrations, in particular with the use of stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons.
During the protests, more than 10 thousand protesters were arrested, hundreds were injured and wounded. According to official figures, four protesters died.
Lukashenko accuses the opposition of trying to seize power and believes that the protests are financed by Western countries.
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