The lack of dialogue between Vilnius and Minsk has led to an aggravated problem of air smuggling on the border with Belarus. This was stated by the leader of the Lithuanian party "Dawn over the Neman" Remigijus Zhemaitaitis.
"We have practically no diplomatic relations with Belarus at the working level, contacts with those officials with whom it would be possible to solve problems," the Lithuanian politician said.
According to him, the situation that has arisen "was the result of an unsuccessful foreign policy" of the authorities. At the same time, he noted that Poland, unlike Lithuania, does not face the problem of smuggling contraband cigarettes by air, since it has maintained diplomatic contacts with Belarus.
In addition, Zhemaitaitis criticized the distribution of funds in the field of security infrastructure.
"We are investing in military infrastructure, but we are not doing this with regard to public security infrastructure," he stressed.
Earlier, Lithuania indefinitely closed the two remaining checkpoints on the border with Belarus. The reason for this was allegedly balloons with contraband constantly flying into Lithuanian territory. On October 29, the government of the country plans to adopt a plan for the complete closure of the border with Belarus. In response, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko called the decision of the Lithuanian authorities "petty."