VILNIUS: The Lithuanian government will reopen two border crossings with Belarus on Thursday that were closed because of smugglers’ balloons crossing the frontier, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said.
He told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday the restrictions were “no longer necessary to ensure internal security.”
The Salcininkai-Benyakoni and Medininkai-Kamenny crossings were closed for one month from October 30, due to the threat to aviation after dozens of balloons loaded with illegal cigarettes entered Lithuanian airspace.
The balloons forced the temporary closure of airports in Vilnius and Kaunas, affecting thousands of passengers. The Lithuanian government and European Union denounced the incidents as a “hybrid attack.”
The border closure inflamed tensions between Lithuania and Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
