Lithuania: Two more checkpoints on Belarus border to be closed down

Lithuania will close down two more checkpoints on the border with Belarus as of 1 March 2024, BNS reports. Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said that closing the checkpoints in Lavoriskes and Raigardas would allow authorities to enforce sanctions, prevent smuggling, and screen incoming travellers more effectively. Also, the National Security Commission (NSK) proposed cutting the number of permits issued to bus companies to reduce passenger traffic between Lithuania and Belarus, and banning pedestrians and cyclists from crossing the border. Moreover, Bilotaite said that transit passengers going to and from Russia’s Kaliningrad region would no longer be able to disembark at the Lithuanian railway station in Kena on the border with Belarus. Lithuania closed two checkpoints on the Belarus border in August 2023. The latest decision will only leave the checkpoints in Medininkai and Salcininkai open.