Lithuania to consider freezing Belarusian assets over smuggler balloon crisis - president

Lithuania's State Defence Council will examine which Belarusian-owned assets in the country could be frozen or confiscated as part of new measures to counter the growing threat posed by smugglers' balloons launched from Belarus, President Gitanas Nausėda said Monday.

"We spoke at the State Defence Council about integrated air defence. Now we are moving on to other issues that will be taken up at the next meeting," Nausėda told LRT TV. "First of all, we will look at what Belarusian assets are present and what options we have - that is, to freeze or confiscate Belarusian assets in Lithuania."

Marius Česnulevičius, the president's national security adviser, said last week that the council - composed of the country's top political and defence officials - is expected to meet in mid-December, though he did not specify what measures would be proposed.

Weather balloons launched by cigarette smugglers from Belarus have disrupted operations at Vilnius Airport more than a dozen times in recent months and once at Kaunas Airport.

Lithuania responded by closing border checkpoints with Belarus for a number of weeks. Minsk has since refused to allow Lithuania-registered trucks to leave the country and has requested consultations at the foreign ministry level.

Nausėda said Belarus' repeated appeals for political-level talks indicate that Minsk wants to discuss sanctions.

"Belarus wants the results of the 2020 election recognised and wants sanctions against it lifted," he said. "And any attempt on our part to move closer to the regime, as they call it, 'at the political level', will boil down to one simple question: 'Will you help us get the sanctions now imposed on potash fertilisers lifted?'"