„Let's remember that the President vetoed the law, stating that we should apply the same legal regime to these people who come from Russia and Belarus. I would say that the ruling majority angrily overrode this veto – well, now they are standing by a broken shell“, Nausėda said in an interview with LNK television.
The President stressed that in the near future, it will be necessary to return to the unification of the legal regime for Russians and Belarusians.
„We will have to come back to this issue in the near future because, in this way, we are taking full responsibility for the fact that people armed with Belarusian citizenship may appear at our borders, hiding behind their clothes the same Wagner soldiers. I am not scared, and I am just suggesting to think very carefully about the situation we are in now“, G. Nausėda stressed.
„These guys probably have no scruples and, in the right hands, could be used for one evil purpose or another“, he said.
ELTA recalls that the Seimas did not listen to President Nauseda's proposals on national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens in April. 99 votes rejected the President's veto.
Both ruling and opposition MPs called for the rejection of the President's veto and for the unification of the restrictions on both Russians and Belarusians.
The draft law on Restrictive Measures on Military Aggression against Ukraine, which was approved by the Seimas, provides for a year-long tightening of the procedure for granting permanent or temporary residence permits and visas and for a ban on the movement of Russian citizens across the external border of the European Union (EU) (unless they meet the requirements of Lithuania).
The legislation also tightens the right of Russian citizens to acquire real estate in Lithuania. Exceptions are made only for Russians who have a permanent residence permit or who acquire property in the country by inheritance.