English

Lithuanian foreign minister says he is optimistic about chance for agreement on local border traffic to be signed

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis told reporters Wednesday at the Belarusian president’s Zaslawye residence near Minsk that he was optimistic about the chance for a Belarusian-Lithuanian interstate agreement on local border traffic to be signed, as quoted by BelaPAN.

According to Mr. Azubalis, earlier in the day, he had a short but very productive discussion on this issue with his Belarusian counterpart, Syarhey Martynaw.

Mr. Martynaw added that this “optimism is short-term in the good sense of the word,” as the agreement might be signed very soon.

Under the agreement, a special local border traffic permit would allow people who reside in the 50-kilometer border area in Belarus and Lithuania to travel to the other country without a visa. Such people would have the right to stay in the other country’s border area for 90 days within six months.

The signing of the agreement was postponed indefinitely after Minsk proposed an amendment that would provide for a registration requirement for Lithuanians who would like to travel to Belarus without a visa and stay there for more than five days.