Antanas Kandrotas, who is currently on trial in Lithuania and unexpectedly travelled to Minsk in early May, has surfaced in Belarus alongside controversial Latvian politician Aleksejs Rosļikovs. The two men first established ties during the Covid-19 pandemic and, together with associates in Estonia, helped organise pro-Russian movements.
“The people who bring flowers, all those elderly people, are persecuted by various neo-fascists and neo-Nazis. The government views this positively. It is very sad that people in a neighbouring country are not allowed to celebrate their holiday,” Kandrotas said about May 9 celebrations in an interview with Belarusian state media.
Standing beside him was Edikas Jagelavičius, an associate of Algirdas Paleckis, who was imprisoned in Lithuania for spying for Russia. Jagelavičius fled to neighbouring Belarus in 2022, earlier than Kandrotas.
Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) previously said Jagelavičius has not returned to Lithuania because he could face criminal liability over a visit to Russian-occupied Donbas and document forgery linked to the establishment of the International Forum of Good Neighbourhood Association.
Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the organisation arranged trips to Belarus and Russia, where they met with officials, including Alexander Lukashenko.
