Opposition expresses concern over shift in government’s rhetoric on Minsk

The opposition in the Seimas has raised concerns over a shift in the new government’s rhetoric regarding Belarus, as reported by LRT.

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the Liberal Movement, stated: “I see a certain danger, and of course we need to talk about it so that we don’t wake up one morning to find that the state’s policy towards Belarus, towards Lukashenko’s Belarus, has shifted somewhere.”

As noted by BNS, the outgoing government’s programme, led by Ingrida Ruginienė, included a commitment to take “active measures to maintain the international isolation of Russia and Belarus.” However, the new programme of the XXI Cabinet of Ministers, led by Mindaugas Sinkevičius, has been revised to only mention “active measures to maintain the international isolation of Russia,” omitting Belarus.

Belarus is mentioned elsewhere in the programme, with a pledge to “strengthen isolation and pressure” if Belarus continues to support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine or carries out hybrid attacks against the EU or Ukraine.

The new programme also slightly alters the rhetoric on the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant. It promises to raise the issue of the plant’s safety in international formats, seeking to ensure Belarus adheres to the highest standards of nuclear safety and environmental protection, and fulfils its international commitments. The outgoing programme had stated that the operation of the Astravets NPP poses a constant threat and pledged to keep the issue on the EU’s political agenda until all environmental and nuclear safety issues are resolved.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, leader of the conservatives, expressed hope that this is not a precursor to a shift in position next spring when the EU will need to defend its stance on extending the ban on transit cargo. “If we are not the country that represents and defends this idea, it could be that the European Union will lift this ban,” he warned, adding that this would mean further enrichment of Lukashenko’s regime from transit flows.

Lithuania has suspended the transit of Belarusian potash fertilizers since February 1, 2022, following US sanctions imposed in 2021 on Belarus’s largest potash fertilizer producer, Belaruskali, in response to human rights violations in Belarus. The EU later imposed sanctions on Belarusian fertilizers, extending them for another year this summer. The US lifted its sanctions this year and later approached Lithuania and other regional countries about the possibility of resuming fertilizer transit.