The Government of Lithuania, at a meeting on Wednesday, November 19, decided to reopen two checkpoints on the border with Belarus, which were closed at the end of October.
According to Lithuanian media, the Medininkai and Shalcininkai checkpoints, which have been temporarily closed for more than two weeks, will resume work on November 20.
Minister of Internal Affairs of Lithuania Vladislav Kondratovich, speaking at meeting, stated that the previously introduced restrictions were no longer necessary from the point of view of ensuring internal security.
“The current situation makes it possible to abandon temporary measures, so restrictions on border crossings will be lifted,” he emphasized.
At the same time, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė recalled that in the event of a further deterioration of the situation at the border, the government reserves the right to re-close the checkpoints.
Lithuania suspended the operation of two crossings on October 29 for a period of one month. These were the last functioning land checkpoints between Lithuania and Belarus6; the rest were closed earlier, in 2023-2024.
In early November, Poland made a similar decision, reopening two of its checkpoints against the backdrop of stabilization of the situation in the border area.