Belarusian Foreign Ministry: Lithuania has not yet responded to proposal for talks

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has not yet responded to Belarus's proposal, made two days ago, to hold talks between the two foreign ministries to find ways to resolve the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, said Ruslan Varankov, press secretary of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. This was reported by BELTA.

"So far, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has not responded to our proposal. Instead, we have received a proposal from the Lithuanian side to hold a meeting early next week at the level of deputy heads of the border services of the two countries on the issue of combating cross-border crime," Varankov said.

He noted that this initiative is fully consistent with the steps Minsk has proposed to Vilnius in recent years: cooperation in the area of border security and control. "And we certainly welcome this," the press secretary stated.

"However, such cooperation does not resolve the issue of opening the border crossing points unilaterally closed by the Lithuanian side and resuming the movement of citizens, vehicles, and cargo through them. We emphasize once again that, given the complex nature of this issue, its resolution is only possible at the political and diplomatic level, which is what the citizens of Belarus, Lithuania, and other countries, including the EU, are so eagerly awaiting. The Belarusian side is ready for this. But there is another, simpler option that does not involve negotiations: the Lithuanian side can simply reverse its unilateral decision to close the border," said Ruslan Varankov.