Linas Jegelevičius
Russia’s fight-hardened Wagner mercenaries are at a stone’s throw, Belarus is rattling sabres this week in its military drills at its border with Lithuania.
Needless to say, the Lithuanian Government – half of the Cabinet was on holiday this week – is on tenterhooks, with the ministers on duty weighing different options and scenarios as to how address the pugnacious neighbour over the border.
To shut the 678-kilometre border entirely or just close a couple of the checkpoints?
Follow Poland’s example and send more troops to the border or rely on border guards mostly?
It is just some of hot questions the Lithuanian government and the Parliament, the Seimas – the latter’s autumn session starts only in early September – were trying to address this week.
“The presence of Wagner, which we have labelled as a terrorist organization, changes the situation, and it seems to me that the decision is shaping up in the parliament, and the decisions will be taken on the 10th of September, when a new parliamentary session starts,” Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK), told reporters on Wednesday, the 9th of August.
Lithuania says it is considering closing two of its six checkpoints on its border with Belarus – Tverečius and Šumskas – from August 15, according to a draft government resolution drafted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
In case of closure, traffic from the two will be redirected to the Medininkai border checkpoint,
which is the largest and most technically equipped border checkpoint. One with an X-ray inspection system.
Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (SBGS, has said this week he would support closure of more than two of the country’s six border checkpoints with Belarus.
“As the SBGS commander or a representative of a law enforcement body, I’d be in favour of closing more checkpoints, because it would allow us to reduce the flow of, let’s say, unwanted persons,” Liubajevas told LRT TV on Tuesday, the 8th of August.
Closing border checkpoints would be “technically very easy”, according to the border guard chief.
The final decision on the matter will be made by the government.
The NSGK earlier on Wednesday also discussed a proposal to make Belarus’ citizens subject to the same restrictions as those currently in place for Russians.
Deputy Interior Minister Vitalij Dmitrijev argued that the ministry saw the need for this, but that it was basically a matter of political decision.
Belarusian citizens who seek to come to Lithuania are already subject to a deeper scrutiny,
thence a higher number of Belarusians being rejected entry to Lithuania.
Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the opposition Democratic Union “For Lithuania”, said after the committee’s meeting that Wagner’s arrival in Belarus prompt discussions on tougher sanctions on Belarusian citizens, but added that the decision could not be taken automatically.
Meanwhile, MP Dainius Gaižauskas of the opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, acknowledged that a discussion on the issue was necessary, because the Cabinet itself does not have a unanimous opinion.
The MP is particularly slamming the Defence minister, Arvydas Anušauskas, for what he calls “inability” to provide concrete information on how Lithuania is prepared for the threats arising from the deployment of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus.
„We have recognised that Wagner is a terrorist organisation, which means that its risks and threats are of a completely different nature, not only military…The minister did not answer the question how we are prepared, what capacities we have, are we ready and et cetera… He may not say anything to himself, but he must inform the public, because he is the minister…First of all, he must anticipate the most dangerous situations and threats, make decisions, and inform NSGK and the public about possible threats.
Alas, our minister is very slow,“” D. Gaižauskas said last week.
Yet, when it comes to the treatment of Belarusians, it seems the PM, Ingrida Šimonytė, does not hesitate at all: “I think there are a lot of grounds for this (tougher sanctions on Belarusian citizens – L. J.) now,” the prime minister told the Žinių Radijas news radio on Thursday, the 10th of August.
The existing law restricts the granting of Lithuanian visas and electronic resident status for Russians and Belarusians until the 3rd of May, 2024, but Russian citizens are subject to additional restrictions for entering Lithuania, acquiring real estate, and their applications for residence permits in Lithuania are temporarily rejected. Although the Seimas gave Belarusians a slack, enacting fewer restrictions on them, Šimonytė now says the situation has changed “significantly”.
“The key thing that changed after this so-called Wagner mutiny is that (Alexander) Lukashenko decided to harbour a terrorist organization in his country…Clearly, this is changing the overall view of the situation and the understanding of the risks,” she said this week.
However, the head of government emphasised that
humanitarian exemptions for opponents of the regime and opposition activists should be available.
This is what Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is seeking.
On Wednesday, the 9th of August, she told journalists in Vilnius, where she has found refuge since late 2020, said she “understands” Lithuania’s concerns about threats from Minsk, but asks Lithuania to work out a humanitarian corridor for those fleeing the regime’s repression after closing border crossings with Belarus.
“We understand the danger that Belarus’ regime poses to Lithuania, because they will continue to send agents to discredit Belarusians, to antagonize us, to change the relationship between Lithuanians and Belarusians, and to make Lithuanians see us as a threat, rather than as those who oppose the regime,” she said.
As Belarusians marked three years since Belarus’ rigged presidential election in late 2020, Tsikhanouskaya met earlier on Wednesday with President Gitanas Nausėda, asking him personally to “understand” the motives of the majority of Belarusians who are leaving their country.
“As a possible closure of the remaining checkpoints is being considered, we are talking about the need to prevent the transit of sanctioned goods altogether, but to leave the possibility for Belarusians to remain mobile,” Tsikhanouskaya was quoted.
Official statistics show that
almost 31,000 temporary residence permits were issued to Belarusian citizens in Lithuania in 2022 alone.
President Gitanas Nausėda has said Belarusian citizens should be subject to the same sanctions as Russians, but, in spring, the Seimas overrode his veto and left softer sanctions for Belarusians.
When it comes to enforcement of the border militarily, Lithuania is glancing over its shoulder at Poland, which announced of deploying 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability.
But Lithuania remains mum on its actions to bolster the border.
As reported by BNN, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said last week the country would not make its border security measures public: “Concrete actions will not be publicised like they are in Poland”.
The minister has recently been in hot water for what many say “disclosing too much information” when publicly commenting on Lithuania’s decision to buy German tanks for its armed forces.