Lithuania’s interior ministry to set up working group to assist Belarusians

April 5, BPN. Lithuania will do everything possible to balance its national security interests with support to Belarusians who are facing politically-motivated persecution, Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė has told Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja.

The politicians also discussed simplifying residence permit requirements for Belarusians and speeding up decisions on international protection. Opposition representatives and the Lithuanian interior ministry agreed to set up a working group to help Belarusians in Lithuania, Cichanoŭskaja’s press office said.

Over 49,000 Belarusians are currently residing in Lithuania which makes them the second-largest national minority after the Ukrainians, Lithuanian data show. 

On April 4, Lithuanian MPs approved the law on restrictions to Russian and Belarusian nationals over Russia’s war in Ukraine. It reaffirmed the existing restrictions for Belarusians without expanding them.

The new law allows Lithuania to stop accepting Schengen visa applications from Russian and Belarusian nationals, except in cases when authorized by the Lithuanian foreign ministry. The MPs did not support the one-year-long ban on citizenship applications from Russians and Belarusians.

Russians are also temporarily banned from applying for a temporary residence permit and purchasing real estate in Lithuania while Belarusians were not affected by this clause initially.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda may veto the law because it exempts Belarusians from some restrictions, causing Lithuania to be inconsistent as it advocates sanctions both against Russia and Belarus.