Foreign Minister on importance of restarting Belarusian‑Lithuanian relations: equal dialogue meets common interests
To our sincere regret, Belarusian‑Lithuanian relations are currently going through the worst period in the entire history of bilateral co-operation. By betting on a coup in our country in 2020, official Vilnius unleashed a short-sighted hybrid war against the Belarusian state and the people, with whom Lithuanians have lived in friendship and mutual understanding for centuries.
During his working trip to the Ostrovets District of the Grodno Region on November 3rd, 2023, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko said, “We will restore relations with Lithuania, and the same is true about Poland: it is inescapable. The basic principle is that neighbours cannot live badly. I always repeat: neighbours are God-given, and they are not chosen. Disagreements and quarrels happen, but they are passing. The time will come when we will live with them in the way it was before, in Soviet times…”
Belarusians and Lithuanians have nothing to divide in their common history. Starting from the times when they shared the same state at different stages and up to modern days when Belarusians went to well-known Acropolis Mall for shopping and Lithuanians used a visa-free regime to come to Belarus, our people always found common ground, made friends, created families, played sports together, and traded profitably. According to some estimates, Belarusian goods provided up to 30 percent of the load of the Lithuanian logistics infrastructure.
True, at the end of the 20th century, the foreign policy priorities of our countries split, but that did not prevent us from building relations based on the principles of respect for the right of each state to join international political, economic and defensive alliances, without violating the achieved atmosphere of good-neighbourliness and trust.
At present, Belarus continues to consistently adhere to this vector in bilateral relations. However, the politicians in power in Vilnius, on their own or on a hint from the outside, have chosen a different path, the purpose of which is to change the political course in Belarus. Obviously, this goal is absolutely unattainable, since it lacks the key component: the Belarusian people’s support. At the same time, Lithuania itself bears the enormous costs of this senseless confrontation.
The annual direct losses of the Lithuanian economy caused by the severance of ties with Belarus are estimated at almost $1bn, and this is not the limit. Among the most significant consequences are a catastrophically negative impact on the Lithuanian transit industry, the operation of the Klaipeda Port and Lithuanian Railways, a reduction in Lithuanian exports, a sharp deterioration in the economic situation of enterprises working in co-operation with Belarusian partners in various industries, and the loss of tourism business.
Since 2020, the volume of freight transportation by rail has more than halved, and the rolling stock of freight trains has decreased two times as well. About 2,000 employees of Lithuanian Railways have lost their jobs. In 2023, the volume of cargo transshipment at the Klaipeda Port decreased by 9 percent, 11 percent less cargo was transported by sea than in 2022.
In H1 2024, Lithuanian exports dropped by 8 percent, and imports decreased by 10 percent. According to the European Commission, a further increase in the Lithuanian state budget deficit is projected for 2024 and 2025 (in 2023, it made 0.8 percent of GDP; it is expected to reach 1.8 percent in 2024, and 2.2 percent in 2025). Unemployment has increased by almost two percentage points this year, and experts predict its further growth in 2025.
These figures are the ones that can be calculated, that make the tip of the iceberg. If we scratch beneath the surface, we can see that the losses of ordinary Lithuanians are much higher. At the same time, they are unlikely to read anything about this on their official resources.
Don't you really need cheap stable supplies of Belarusian electricity, the prices for which are constantly breaking new records in your bills? Even today, with some stabilisation of the electricity market, prices in Lithuania are six times higher than in Belarus (0.06 Euros per 1kW vs 0.36 Euros). This is actually not surprising for the country forced to import more than 60 percent of electricity after the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant. The statement that Belarusians are so naive and irresponsible that they would build an unsafe nuclear power plant on their territory is nothing but the obvious stupidity and political manipulation.
Can the supplies of fuel pellets, firewood, fertilisers, petroleum products, food, and medicines at reasonable prices – that Lithuanians need so much, especially outside the large cities – hurt them? It is no secret that many residents of Lithuania, including those who are not so well off, have found a good help in the visa-free regime since it enables them to go shopping to the border regions of Belarus. Maybe this fact, as well as the truth about our country, has become the main motive for the Lithuanian authorities to make so much effort to close border crossings and reduce bus services.
Lithuanian businessmen, who — it is not a secret at all – received significant revenues from the distribution of Belarusian goods, have already lost plenty of opportunities, and many more will be lost in the future. Many businesses are closing, people are left without money and prospects. Businessmen – who were implementing profitable projects with Lithuanian investments in Belarus – suffer now as well.
Naturally, we are talking also about the loss of human contacts, understandable to every Lithuanian, and the termination of joint cultural, scientific, educational and sports projects. After the closure of border crossings, some Lithuanians experience difficulties in visiting the graves of their relatives. The restrictions imposed by Lithuania at the border, including on the transportation of food and medicines, are beyond the bounds of humanity and respect for basic human rights. The same applies to the harsh measures taken against migrants.
The situation is absolutely abnormal. The paradox is that the residents of Lithuania – many of whom actively use the visa-free regime to visit Belarus – also sincerely do not understand what is actually happening, and why the Lithuanian leadership needs this situation.
In the current conditions, we are not sitting idly by. Belarus has been forced to diversify its economic ties, and the process is very successfully developing. In turn, the Lithuanian economy – that is focused on the service sector – may suffer sustained long-term losses, and they will accumulate. At the same time, compensation payments to the affected sectors of the Lithuanian economy will simply end sooner or later, and it will be difficult to hide the consequences.
Belarus, despite this senseless and absolutely unjustified pressure, is still interested in a normal equal dialogue with its Lithuanian neighbours – in the interests of the peoples of the two countries.
The Belarusian people are very patient and friendly, and there is a clear understanding in Minsk that it is necessary to move away from the edge of the abyss and return to constructive co-operation – before it’s too late. Moreover, the Lithuanian side needs to take these steps right now, because we can simply approach the point of no return in many areas – such as the economy, logistics, and interpersonal contacts. History will not forgive us for this.
Minsk has repeatedly conveyed to the Lithuanian side its readiness for consultations with Vilnius on restoring normal good-neighbourly co-operation. We are ready to resume contacts through the border and special services, sectoral departments, and foreign ministries. We can start working at the level of parliamentarians and any authorised Lithuanian delegations. We are ready to develop a roadmap for unblocking co-operation in certain areas – naturally, based on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and independence of Belarus and its right to its own path of development in co-operation with partners.
However, many people have reasonable doubts about the existence of a responsible political elite in Lithuania today. Lithuanians have learned a lot about their politicians in recent years. It is enough to recall the ‘cheque scandal’ when thousands of Dollars covered representative and office expenses, the 150m Euros forced to be paid by Lithuanian citizens because of the Ignitis electricity operator that drove the electricity tariffs up, and the 17m Euros allocated for the construction of a national stadium and lost by the heads of the investment fund which managed the budget funds in the casino. We hope that the results of the parliamentary elections in October this year will create conditions for the restoration of the Belarusian‑Lithuanian dialogue. We note the interest in updating the EU's East-focused policy following the results of elections in a number of European countries, the example of which can be followed by the Lithuanian people.
I would like to take this opportunity to publicly address the residents of Lithuania. I urge ordinary Lithuanians as true bearers of their country's sovereignty to calmly and rationally sort out the situation and weigh in on the defence of civilised communication with their neighbours – if you still have the opportunity to openly express your opinion, of course. This will make it possible to neutralise in the near future all the negative aspects brought to our peoples by the ridiculous confrontation with Belarusians imposed by your politicians.
Among the priority measures, we could jointly outline ways to resolve the issues of normalisation of the migration situation at the border, de‑escalation of military tension, interaction between law enforcement agencies, resumption of transfer of pensions and allowances, medical rehabilitation, including for those with chronic diseases and children with disabilities. It is in our common interests to restore normal passenger and freight traffic and mobility, transit of goods, including such important humanitarian items as food, medicines, and fertilisers.
The agenda could also include such areas as the resumption of educational and cultural exchanges, joint scientific programmes, the continuation of the reconstruction of checkpoints, the implementation of environmental projects, co-operation in the energy sector, the creation of joint ventures and, most importantly, normal human communication between Belarusians and Lithuanians.
We will wait for the reaction of the Lithuanian side to these proposals and concrete measures by the Lithuanian political elite, based primarily on the interests of their own people.
The new visa-free entry procedure was launched in July this year for citizens of 35 European states. As reported by the State Border Committee, 5,961 Europeans have used the new rules to visit Belarus since then.
Since the beginning of the year, 67,032 people have arrived in Belarus from Lithuania, 32,418 from Poland, and 14,633 from Latvia. In total, 967,439 European residents have visited Belarus since April 15th, 2022.
By Belarus’ Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov
