The situation with balloons that smuggle cigarettes on the border with Lithuania is not a hybrid threat, but an ordinary cross-border crime that the two countries need to combat through co-operation and dialogue – as stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta following today’s meeting of Belarus’ Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin with Lithuanian and Polish truck carriers
According to Mr. Secreta, there are a lot of issues that need attention in bilateral relations with Lithuania, and among them are the ones related to security and law enforcement. “There is also the issue of the balloons smuggling cigarettes that everyone is already tired of. Actually, we view the situation developing at the border differently, and this hampers us from reaching an agreement. For some reason, it is advantageous for the Lithuanian side to consider this a hybrid threat, because the threat is generously paid for in Europe, it shocks, impresses everyone and does not require additional discussions. In turn, we believe that we are dealing with an ordinary cross-border crime that involves representatives of different countries,” the diplomat said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that, when there is a difference in price, there will always be a temptation to bypass something and make money on it; this has always been at the common border, as long as prices differed. At the same time, he emphasised that cross-border crimes must be tackled jointly, through co-operation and dialogue, “This can be done in the usual, standard way, when customs, border guards, law enforcement officers and special services talk to each other, inform about channels, and exchange operational information. The result is better in this case, but this requires interaction for long. In turn, if an immediate, policy-dictated result is needed, then an information bomb is used – to explode and attract a lot of attention in the EU countries. That’s a completely different kind of money. On our part, we propose to work together and earn money on cargo transportation, on joint scientific and cultural activities. Let’s open the border and make it predictable and safe for the citizens of all countries — not only for Belarus, Lithuania and Poland.”
Mr. Sekreta also said that technical contacts between Poland and Lithuania at the level of representatives of the border guards had not stopped. However, this does not solve the main problem, which is written in the agreements on the regime of the state border with Lithuania and the relevant agreements with the Polish side. “We will discuss the prospects of working at the border, including the use of transit opportunities of the Republic of Lithuania. This involves a large range of issues that go beyond the powers of the border guards,” the Deputy Foreign Minister added.