Lithuania asks the United States to increase pressure on Belarus

The United States should increase pressure on official Minsk and continue to tighten sanctions. This was announced on November 10 by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kastutis Budris during a meeting with John Cole, whom the US president nominated for the post of special envoy for Belarus.

"Despite all the measures taken by Lithuania and international pressure, the Belarusian regime continues hybrid attacks against Lithuania, creating a threat to the security of international aviation and increasing tensions in the region. Therefore, it is especially important to increase pressure on the regime and continue to tighten sanctions," Budris said.

He also informed Cole about "ongoing violations of airspace with the help of meteorological balloons, as well as the continuing flows of illegal migration," stressing that the actions of official Minsk "are deliberate and hostile." In addition, Budris thanked the envoy for "the solidarity shown by the United States with Lithuania in the context of hybrid attacks by Belarus."

On November 9, US President Donald Trump nominated his representative John Cole to the post of special envoy for Belarus. Earlier, Cole, in the role of representative of the US President and deputy Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine, held talks with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, after which those who are called "political prisoners" in the West were released in June and September.