Belarus is forcing Lithuania to reduce its diplomatic staff to a minimum

Asta Andijauskiene, the authorized clerk of Lithuania in Belarus, who was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania on Tuesday, was informed about it.

“Giving seemingly official status to illegitimate entities will also remain an illusory attempt to create a parallel reality,” the statement issued by the Belarussian Foreign Ministry said.

Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mants Adomens told Lithuanian public television that after the downsizing, only one Lithuanian diplomat will work in Belarus to deal with consular issues. This actually means closing the embassy, Adom added.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing response measures and will be informed about them later, Vītaute Šmaižīte-Kuļešiene, the press secretary of the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrieļus Landsbergs, told the news agency BNS.

It has already been reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania accredited the democratic representation of Belarus on Monday, thus granting official status to the team of Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlan Cihanouska working in Vilnius.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this is a symbolic step in the legal recognition of Belarusian civil society and its efforts to bring about democratic change in its country, but the accredited institution will not be considered a diplomatic mission and will not have the same rights and privileges as diplomatic missions.

Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, was declared the winner of the presidential election last August, but Western countries consider the election to be rigged. Cihanoouska is thought to have won more votes than Lukashenko.

After the election, the Lukashenko regime forced Cihanouska to leave Belarus, and she lives in Vilnius, where she has set up her office.