Lithuania's parliament speaker says Belarus sanctions relief needs democratic change

VILNIUS - Lithuania can only discuss easing sanctions against Belarus after democratic changes take place in the country, parliament speaker Juozas Olekas said.

Olekas said there were currently no signs that the Belarusian regime was changing, and therefore Lithuania's position on sanctions remained unchanged. He stressed that Lithuania wanted to have a democratic neighbour with which it could develop political and economic ties.

Olekas spoke about sanctions as Prime Minister-designate Mindaugas Sinkevicius prepared to present the 21st Government's programme to the Seimas on Tuesday. The programme shows a shift in tone regarding the isolation of the Belarusian regime.

The programme of the outgoing Inga Ruginiene Cabinet included a goal to take "active steps to further maintain the international isolation of Russia and Belarus". Meanwhile, the programme of the Sinkevicius Cabinet, registered last week, includes a similar commitment to take "active steps to further maintain the international isolation of Russia".

Minsk is not mentioned in this section, while the isolation of Belarus is addressed elsewhere in the programme, which states that isolation will be strengthened if Belarus continues to support Russian aggression against Ukraine or carries out hybrid attacks against Ukraine or the European Union.

Olekas linked the change in the government's programme wording to US efforts to free Belarusian political prisoners and Lithuania's fight against smuggling balloons, which led the government to close the border and the Minsk regime to detain Lithuanian trucks.

He stressed that Lithuania opposes political repression and is urging the Minsk regime to stop such actions, while continuing to support Belarusian democratic forces. He also said Lithuanian and US efforts had helped reduce the number of smuggling balloons, although stopping them completely was unlikely.

The new government is being formed following a reshuffle of the ruling coalition. The Seimas must approve its programme before the new Cabinet can begin its work.