{"id":65703,"date":"2024-02-07T23:41:30","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=65703"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"cichanouskaja-urges-lithuania-not-to-build-the-iron-curtain","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/","title":{"rendered":"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja and Agn\u0117 Bilotait\u0117\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (The Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior on X)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

February 7, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints as an attempt to build an iron curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Only \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin would win from the isolation of Belarusians,” she told the BNS <\/em>news agency, as quoted by her press office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For many Belarusians, the border with Lithuania is the only link to the free world. For some of them, it is the only way to escape repression,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She recognized that regime accomplices can infiltrate Lithuania and offered help in reviewing the screening system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is \u0141uka\u0161enka and his regime who should be isolated, no the Belarusians. Freight traffic, especially the flow of sanctioned goods, should be restricted but passenger traffic should be maintained,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 6, Lithuanian Interior Minister Agn\u0117 Bilotait\u0117 said that closing the Lavori\u0161k\u0117s and Raigardas checkpoints would help Lithuania enforce Western sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move would also improve control over smuggling and the vetting of travelers coming from Belarus, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day, the Lithuanian National Security Commission suggested closing down Lavori\u0161k\u0117s and Raigardas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 18, Lithuania closed the \u0160umskas and Tvere\u010dius checkpoints at the border with Belarus, citing security concerns and the lack of equipment for scanning truck trailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with Lavori\u0161k\u0117s and Raigardas, Lithuania continues operating the Medininkai checkpoint at its shared border with Belarus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints as an attempt to build an iron curtain. “Only \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin would win from the isolation of Belarusians,” she told the BNS news agency, as quoted by her press office. “For many Belarusians, the border with Lithuania […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":65656,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-65703","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\"},\"headline\":\"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-07T20:41:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\"},\"wordCount\":241,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\",\"name\":\"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-07T20:41:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain | Pozirk","description":"February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain | Pozirk","og_description":"February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/"},"headline":"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain","datePublished":"2024-02-07T20:41:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/"},"wordCount":241,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/","name":"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-07T20:41:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00","description":"February 7, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has criticized the proposed closure of Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tihanovckaya-bilotaite-1128.jpg","width":1128,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65703\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cichano\u016dskaja urges Lithuania not to build iron curtain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/65703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=65703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}