„I reject the conditions and pace imposed on us, the very principle itself. We must not lose sight of the essence and remember what this whole story is about. This is yet another attempt by the regime to instrumentalise criminal acts, to use them against Lithuania, causing damage to us in various areas,“ Budrys told LRT radio.
According to the minister, the regime must first ensure that new weather balloons are not allowed into Lithuanian territory and do not disrupt air traffic. Only then, he said, will there be no reason to keep the border crossings closed.
„We should not rush into what Lukashenko is offering us,“ he stressed, adding that the state is currently planning new retaliatory measures and is already implementing some of them.
Budrys also stressed that Lithuania's decision to close the border crossings shows Belarus that the state will not tolerate hybrid threats directed against it.
„In response to this, the National Security Commission and the government have agreed to close the checkpoints, thereby showing Belarus that this is a vital national security issue for us and that we will take all necessary measures at the national, European Union, and NATO levels to respond to hybrid threats. And we will call on our allies to help solve this problem, because by acting in this way and causing us harm, the regime is escalating the situation even further,“ said the minister.
ELTA reminds that, in view of the smuggling balloons disrupting Vilnius Airport's operations, the Lithuanian Government decided a few weeks ago to close the last border control points with Belarus at Medininkai and Šalčininkai for a month, until midnight on November 30.
Traffic through the Šalčininkai checkpoint has been completely suspended, while the Medininkai checkpoint is operating with certain restrictions.
Earlier, the Minister of the Interior stated that, following this decision, about 1,000 trucks registered in Lithuania were stuck in the neighbouring country.
It was previously announced that Lukashenko signed a decree at the end of October banning trucks and tractors registered in certain EU countries, including Lithuania and Poland, from driving on Belarusian territory.
Belarus also announced that trucks stuck at the border and unable to enter Lithuania would be moved to specially equipped parking lots and taxed.