Ministry reviews proposal to cut Russian transit time through Lithuania

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry is reviewing a proposal to limit Russian citizens’ transit through the country to six hours, LRT reported.

“The letter from Seimas member Arvydas Anušauskas has been received by the Foreign Ministry and is currently under review,” the ministry told ELTA.

Anušauskas, a conservative lawmaker, registered amendments to the Law on the State Border and Its Protection in response to an increase in transit violations. The amendments would limit the time Russian citizens can spend transiting through Lithuania to six hours and introduce automated number plate recognition for monitoring.

The lawmaker says the proposal would comply with European Union law and would not unilaterally change the maximum 24-hour period set by a 2003 Council regulation. The amendments would provide objective exceptions for vehicle breakdowns, traffic accidents, queues at the border and extreme weather. In such cases, transit could take longer than six hours but could not exceed the EU’s 24-hour maximum.

Anušauskas also proposes using Lithuania’s existing automated vehicle number plate recognition infrastructure to record the start and end of transit in real time and identify deviations from the route.

He has asked Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius to immediately assess the effectiveness of current transit controls and prepare a consistent government position. He also contacted Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys and Interior Minister Martynas Katelėnas, stressing the need for international action.

President Gitanas Nausėda’s national security adviser, Marius Česnulevičius, said there was no reason to oppose the proposal. Speaking to Žinių radijas on Tuesday, he said a shorter time limit could reduce the number of possible violations.

“If the current limit is up to 24 hours, six hours would give people less reason to wander around Lithuania,” Česnulevičius said. He added that a six-hour limit would not violate travellers’ dignity, saying Lithuania could be crossed in that time with a stop at a petrol station if needed.