Lithuanian authorities: No one holds Tikhanovskaya and her office, they can leave the country

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, if she wants, can leave Lithuania. This was stated by the chief adviser to the Lithuanian President on national security issues Asta Skaisgirite.

According to her, final decisions regarding the level of protection of the fugitive Belarusian oppositionist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya have not yet been made, and "discussions are continuing." Skysgirite noted that Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda adheres to the position that Tikhanovskaya should continue to be protected, but the level and forms of this protection should be determined by the relevant services. Nevertheless, she stressed that the decision on protection should also be political.

"We cannot reduce this to technical details only, but technically the decision must be correct and justified," said Skysgirite.

At the same time, the adviser added that Tikhanovskaya's official status in Lithuania remains unchanged: she has the status of a guest of the country, and the accreditation issued by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry to her representative office continues to operate.

"It is obvious that when making decisions, the government will take into account this whole set of circumstances," she said.

At the same time, against the background of statements by Tikhanovskaya's supporters that due to a change in attitude towards her from Vilnius, the oppositionist and her office may consider moving to Poland, Skysgirite noted that "Ms. Tikhanovskaya is a free person, she is not in prison."

"Of course, if she wanted to, she could consider other options, but our task is to ensure that she feels safe in Lithuania," the adviser said.

We remind you that since October 1, the Lithuanian government has reduced the level of protection of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Now it is guarded not by the Security Service of the state leadership, but by the Criminal Police Bureau. After that, it became known about the temporary physical closure of Tikhanovskaya's office in Vilnius. On October 13, Denis Kuchinsky, a diplomatic adviser to the oppositionist, said that her entourage was already considering the possibility of leaving Lithuania.