{"id":844,"date":"2023-08-31T11:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T08:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=844"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"lithuanias-interior-ministry-potential-belarus-border-closure-not-to-affect-diplomats-asylum-seekers","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/844\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania&#8217;s interior ministry: potential Belarus&#8217; border closure not to affect diplomats, asylum seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>August 31,&nbsp;<em>BPN<\/em>.<\/strong>&nbsp;Lithuanians and European Union citizens would be able to return home should Lithuania opt to seal its shared border with Belarus, Delfi reported citing the Lithuanian Interior Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diplomats and asylum seekers would be also able to travel, it added, while Belarusians visiting Lithuania for shopping or transit to other EU countries would not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many Belarusians visit families in Lithuania or stay at health resorts but the majority come for shopping, said Giedrius Mi\u0161utis, spokesman for the border guards. Another small group are truck drivers with work visas, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The closure of the \u0160umskas and Tvere\u010dius checkpoints has not affected the flow of Belarusian travelers to Lithuania which remains at about 4,000 persons per day, he said, noting that the potential closure of two other larger crossings may reduce the border traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On August 18, Lithuania closed the \u0160umskas and Tvere\u010dius checkpoints at the border with Belarus, citing the lack of equipment for scanning truck trailers and security concerns, including Wagner Group mercenaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A week later, Interior Minister Agn\u0117 Bilotait\u0117 said that Vilnius was evaluating the possible closure of more border crossings over smuggling. However, the Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida \u0160imonyt\u0117 said that the government was not planning to do it in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On August 28, interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States agreed on criteria to close their borders with Belarus. These include an armed incident or other serious incidents threatening their national security, as well as a surge in illegal migration from Belarus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 31,&nbsp;BPN.&nbsp;Lithuanians and European Union citizens would be able to return home should Lithuania opt to seal its shared border with Belarus, Delfi reported citing the Lithuanian Interior Ministry. Diplomats and asylum seekers would be also able to travel, it added, while Belarusians visiting Lithuania for shopping or transit to other EU countries would not. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[30],"class_list":["post-844","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","rubric-security"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lithuania&#039;s interior ministry: potential Belarus&#039; border closure not to affect diplomats, asylum seekers | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 31,&nbsp;BPN.&nbsp;Lithuanians and European Union citizens would be able to return home should Lithuania opt to seal its shared border with\" \/>\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\/844\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithuania&#039;s interior ministry: potential Belarus&#039; 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