Belarus stands for the speedy restoration of the normal functioning of the border with Lithuania. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Maxim Ryzhenkov following the report to Alexander Lukashenko.
"The President was informed about the situation that is developing on the border, about the measures taken by the Belarusian side in order to resolve this situation as soon as possible and open checkpoints. First of all, in the interests of people — citizens of Belarus, Lithuania, as well as citizens of third countries who used this border in their movements. The President has given appropriate instructions on how to speed up the process of restoring normal relations with the Lithuanian side regarding the functioning of state borders," the minister said.
According to him, Minsk "fully supports the speedy restoration of the normal functioning of the Belarusian-Lithuanian state border, with the functioning of all checkpoints provided for by our contractual legal framework, and with the restoration of normal interaction through the relevant services that ensure the functioning of the border." He also said that due to the fact that the situation went beyond the powers of the border agencies of the two countries, diplomats were involved in solving the problem, so further measures "should include a whole range of political and diplomatic solutions."
"Relevant proposals have been sent to the Lithuanian side through the authorized border authorities, and we expect the appropriate reaction from the Lithuanian side," Ryzhenkov said.
In turn, Konstantin Molostov, chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus, said that "the bodies of the border service of Belarus are in constant readiness for the full-fledged passage of persons and vehicles on a permanent basis at all checkpoints, as well as for any changes in the situation on the state border, in the interests of fulfilling the tasks defined by the president of our country".
In October, the Lithuanian side unilaterally repeatedly stopped the passage of persons and vehicles at checkpoints across the state border. Since October 26, the passage of persons and vehicles on the Lithuanian initiative has been stopped at the checkpoint "Shalchininkai" (adjacent "Benyakoni"). Because of this, thousands of trucks and trailers from Lithuania remained on the Belarusian territory.