Belarus leader orders talks to ease border tensions with Lithuania

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has tasked the Foreign Ministry with organising negotiations to normalise the situation on the border with Lithuania.

Lukashenko received reports from State Border Committee Chairman General Konstantin Molostov, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, and KGB Chairman General Ivan Tertel regarding the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian and Belarusian-Polish borders, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Belarusian presidential press service.

The press service said the Lithuanian authorities submitted proposals to resolve the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.

"In this regard, the President heard reports from State Border Committee Chairman General Konstantin Molostov, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, and KGB Chairman General Ivan Tertel on the situation at the Belarusian-Lithuanian and Belarusian-Polish borders,” the press service said.

Given the Lithuanian initiative, Lukashenko instructed the foreign minister to organise talks aimed at normalising the situation and restoring the full operation of border crossing points, with the participation of Lithuanian officials responsible for this area.

Interagency coordination and other forms of support for the negotiations have been assigned to the State Secretary of the Security Council, Alexander Volfovich.

Since October 2025, Lithuania has shut its main border crossings with Belarus in response to what Vilnius terms repeated “hybrid attacks”—notably, the launch of balloons from Belarus carrying contraband cigarettes that disrupted air traffic and triggered border closures.  

Lithuania filed a case at the International Court of Justice in May 2025, alleging that Belarus orchestrated migrant-smuggling across its frontier, accusing Minsk of instrumentalising migration as a geopolitical tool.

In early November, the Belarusian leadership signalled readiness to reopen crossings — but Lithuania refused to agree to bilateral talks until Minsk addressed security concerns, highlighting the deep mistrust between the two neighbours.

By Jeyhun Aghazada