VILNIUS: Lithuania said Wednesday it will keep the country’s border crossings with Belarus closed for a month after balloons used to smuggle cigarettes across the frontier caused repeated disruption at the capital’s airport, though there will be some exemptions.
The two border crossings with Belarus were closed last week after balloon sightings prompted the suspension of air traffic at Vilnius Airport on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Lithuanian officials view the balloon disruption as a deliberate act by Russia-allied Belarus. Lithuania is a NATO and European Union member on the Western alliance’s eastern flank, and borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave as well as Belarus.
Lithuania’s Cabinet decided Wednesday that the crossing at Šalčininkai will be closed altogether and passage through the other — at Medininkai, near Vilnius — will be restricted for the next month, the BNS news agency reported.
Some Lithuanian and EU citizens will still be allowed to pass through Medininkai. Officials also have said that Russians holding a transit document that allows them to travel to Kaliningrad will also be allowed through.
