{"id":166510,"date":"2025-12-02T15:16:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T12:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/166510\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"lithuanian-pm-set-to-meet-with-us-envoy-before-his-trip-to-minsk","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/166510\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuanian PM set to meet with US envoy before his trip to Minsk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

December<\/strong> 2, Pozirk<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginien\u0117 intended to meet with John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, on December 2 to discuss tensions between Minsk and Vilnius before the envoy\u2019s trip to Minsk later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister intends to ask Coale to raise the issue of weather balloons flying from Belarus and disrupting operations at Lithuania\u2019s airports and demand that Minsk release trucks stranded in Belarus since the border closure from October 29 and November 20, Delfi<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius has ignored Minsk\u2019s appeals for direct diplomatic talks because it significantly downgraded official contacts after what it called rigged 2020 presidential election in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania has reported incursions by nearly 600 cigarette-smuggling weather balloons and 197 drones since January. The incidents disrupted 320 flights, affecting 47,000 passengers and causing 60 hours of airport closures, said Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovi\u010d in a letter to Magnus Brunner, EU commissioner for internal affairs and migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk pushes for consultations between the countries\u2019 foreign ministries, while Lithuania views possible talks as an effort to break the international isolation of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s regime and potentially pave the way for easing sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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