Lithuania and Estonia reject easing sanctions on Belarus

Lithuania and Estonia see no basis for easing sanctions on Belarus and say the Nordic-Baltic region must act together on security, LRT reported. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius made the remarks during a working visit to Tallinn on Thursday, where he met Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal.

“We do not have the luxury of competing where we must act together,” the two leaders said, stressing that a united region would be safer.

“A few days ago, we marked the anniversary of the Baltic Way, a historic event for our countries. At that time, we united to seek freedom; now we must stand united to protect it,” Sinkevičius said. He added that closer cooperation between the Baltic and Nordic countries was essential for regional security and that Estonia’s role was indispensable.

The leaders discussed the security situation and hybrid threats in the region, including attempts by Russia and Belarus to test the resilience of the European Union’s external borders and increase tensions in the region and across Europe.

Lithuania and Estonia intend to act together and in solidarity, refusing to be intimidated, treating defence funding as a priority and continuing to support Ukraine and its fight for freedom, the report said.

The prime ministers also highlighted the importance of the defence industry. They said the countries should develop joint projects rather than compete with each other, expand production capacity, promote innovation, improve weapons interoperability and seek more effective public procurement solutions.

Competitiveness and strategic infrastructure projects, including Rail Baltica and Via Baltica, were also discussed. Sinkevičius said support for the projects must be consistently coordinated at EU level, particularly ahead of negotiations on the bloc’s next multiannual financial programme.

The leaders said the future EU budget must properly reflect the situation of countries on the EU’s eastern flank and strike a balance between security and economic growth.

They also discussed priorities for Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2027 and the importance of cooperation between Lithuania and Estonia in implementing them.

The prime ministers stressed the importance of the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Nordic-Baltic Eight formats in strengthening the region and its voice. They also discussed EU enlargement and support for Ukraine’s and Moldova’s aspirations to join the bloc.

Sinkevičius and Michal said Belarus’s conduct had not fundamentally changed and that the country continued to act on Russia’s side. They saw no grounds for changing the approach to the Belarusian regime.

“I see no grounds to say that Belarus’s conduct has changed in any significant way. The current assessment does not create the conditions for changing the sanctions policy towards Belarus,” Sinkevičius said at a joint news conference.

He said Belarus continued hybrid activities against Lithuania, including the instrumentalisation of migration and the transport of air balloons and cigarettes, which had disrupted civil aviation. Lithuania had responded by installing a fence and various surveillance systems, but the activity had not ended, he said, citing individual cases involving tunnel digging and the continued pushing back of migrants being illegally transported.

Sinkevičius stressed that sanctions against Belarus and its state-owned companies were a common European decision, not solely a Lithuanian policy.

Michal also said there was no reason to believe that Belarus was changing its position or moving away from Russia. “There is no point in creating illusions that Belarus is anywhere other than on Russia’s side. I think the security aspects certainly do not show that,” he said.