23-01-2023
Lithuanian government cancels agreement with Belarus on border cooperation
The Government has denounced the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of Belarus on the Basic Principles of Border Cooperation.
"The implementation of the bilateral intergovernmental agreement with Belarus is not possible in the current geopolitical situation and will not be possible in the near future," says Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė.
The Government's decision was taken in the light of the political situation in Belarus following the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections, Lukashenko regime's instrumentalisation of migration against EU countries and its involvement in the war against Ukraine.
In October 2020, Lithuania suspended payments to Belarus and its partners for ongoing projects under the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, cooperation activities with Belarusian institutions and organisations have been suspended by order of the Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė. Following the outbreak of the war against Ukraine, the European Commission adopted a decision to suspend the Programme in March 2022.
The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of Belarus on the Basic Principles of Cross-Border Cooperation was signed on 1 June 2006. On June 6, 2006, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Belarus signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the relations between the two countries on January 1, 2006 in Vilnius.