However, Rokas Pukinskas of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) points out that the number of Belarusians crossing the border is much higher than that of Lithuanians.
„As far as Lithuanians are concerned, in May, Lithuanians crossed the border with Belarus more than 79,000 times, including trips in both directions. There can also be three or four crossings, which is simply called the number of crossings. We cannot sort out how many people have made the crossing, but the same person can make many crossings in a month. In June, the number is 96,291,“ Pukinskas told Elta.
He added that the number of Belarusians going to Lithuania in both May and June was higher than the number of Lithuanians going to Belarus.
„We see that Belarusian propaganda rejoices that there are a lot of Lithuanians coming to Lithuania, but in reality, there are much more Belarusians coming to Lithuania than Lithuanians coming to Belarus. If we take May, the number of Belarusian crossings in both directions is over 120,000, and in June, it is almost 137,000. In both months, the number of Belarusians coming to Lithuania was much higher than the number of Lithuanians going to Belarus,“ the representative of the VSAT said.
It was possible to get to the Belarusian border checkpoint without a visa earlier
R. Pukinskas explains that the VSAT does not have data on how much the visa-free regime may have affected Lithuanians' travel to Belarus, as the data is monitored on a monthly basis, not from a specific point of reference. Moreover, he said, a Lithuanian could have travelled to Belarus without a visa via the Lithuanian border before but had to obtain a visa at a Belarusian border checkpoint.
„For example, if a person went to Belarus last summer, presented his documents to the border guard in Medininkai, the border guard checked the documents, the documents were valid, but there was no Belarusian visa in the passport, then he said that he would get a visa at the Belarusian border checkpoint, and he was passed through. In this case, it is not so important whether the person leaving Lithuania has a visa or not,“ said the representative of the VSAT.
The most frequent travellers to Belarus are residents of the border area
The same people who used to cross the border to Belarus before the visa-free regime came into force are basically going to Belarus, says Pukinskas. He said that people are periodically warned about the risks of travelling to Belarus and that the information is repeatedly broadcast in the Lithuanian media.
„Most of the people going to Belarus are residents of the border area and the surrounding areas, for whom going to Belarus is most likely either a source of livelihood or a means of supplementing their salary. The bottom line is that if a person is crossing the state border and his documents are in order, and the documents of his vehicle are also in order, the border guard does not have any legal leverage to refuse him,“ the VSAT spokesman said.
„It is the right of a person to decide, and the person himself should also be aware of the risks that he may face when going to a neighbouring country, and it is up to him to assess those risks“, he added.
Lithuania and the EU are more attractive to Belarusians than Belarus is to Lithuanians
According to the representative of the VSAT, Belarusians are still using their valid visas to go to Europe for holidays via Lithuania, as it is very easy to get to Vilnius Airport via the border post in Medininkai, from where flights to popular tourist destinations are operated.
„We can cautiously conclude that Lithuania and the European Union are much more attractive to Belarusians than Belarus is to Lithuanians. Let's not leave aside the fact that Belarusians go to Lithuania to do their own shopping, even though they are well aware that some goods in Lithuania are more expensive than in Belarus. But then again, some people apparently have money and go to spend it,“ Pukinskas explained.
He believes that it is also possible that Belarusians come to Lithuania for recreation. Still, it isn't easy to find out the real reasons, as statistics on each person's reasons for coming to the country are not collected, and it is a private matter.
„A person may tell the border guard that I am going to a funeral or to visit relatives, but in reality, they will drive to the nearest petrol station, turn around and come back. We do not have statistics on the reasons given by people crossing the border, and it is a personal matter,“ the representative of the VSAT said.
ELTA reminds us that Belarus introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of Latvia and Lithuania from the 15th of April to the 15th of May inclusive. During this period, Latvian and Lithuanian citizens could use their right to enter and stay in Belarus an unlimited number of times.
In mid-May, the Belarusian foreign ministry announced that the visa-free regime for Lithuanian and Latvian citizens would be extended until the end of 2022.
For Polish citizens, the visa-free regime applies from the 1st of July.
The State Security Department of the Republic of Lithuania has warned that the Belarusian regime may use people entering the country for propaganda purposes. For Lithuanians, Belarus is attractive because of the much lower prices of fuel, tobacco and other products.
