MINSK, 16 December (BelTA) – No official request from Vilnius has been received to arrange a meeting with the Belarusian side, BelTA learned from Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Varankov.
“We note the evolution in the Lithuanian side’s public statements, which have shifted from a categorical refusal of any political dialogue to an expressed readiness for contacts at the level of an ambassador‑at‑large,” Ruslan Varankov said. “At the same time, despite this change in rhetoric in the media space, no official proposal or request to arrange a meeting has been submitted through diplomatic channels by Vilnius.”
The press secretary stressed that such a gap between public statements and the absence of concrete official steps makes it difficult to assess the sincerity of the Lithuanian side’s intentions. “For its part, Belarus approaches the issue of dialogue in a consistent and responsible manner and once again reaffirms its openness to consultations at an appropriate level in order to discuss the full range of bilateral issues, including border matters,” he added.
Ruslan Varankov recalled that there is a strong legal basis for this. Paragraph 1.6 of Article 31 of the treaty on the Belarus-Lithuania border states that, if the border commissioners cannot reach an agreement, the parties must resolve their differences at the diplomatic level.
“Therefore, we expect that Lithuania’s public readiness will finally be backed by a concrete official proposal. Once this happens, the Belarusian side stands ready to immediately begin substantive work,” Ruslan Varankov assured.
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