Vilnius May Open Border with Belarus before November 30

The first details of the meeting between Lithuanian and Belarusian border guards are emerging. According to Lithuanian media, Vilnius raised issues of smuggling, the situation with border crossing closures and freight carriers, and illegal migration.

It is also reported that the decision to open the border will be made late in the evening of November 18 by the National Security Commission, taking into account the results of "technical negotiations between border guards and other circumstances."

Amid growing pressure from Lithuanian businesses and carriers, Vilnius is now leaning toward opening the border earlier than the originally planned date of November 30, according to the chairman of the Lithuanian parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee.