MINSK, 25 October (BelTA) - Lithuania has closed the border twice in a week without warning, an unprecedented move, Chairman of the Belarusian State Customs Committee Vladimir Orlovsky said in an interview with the First News TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“Over the past week, Lithuania has twice closed the border with Belarus at both checkpoints. On 22 October, the border was closed on the Lithuanian side's initiative for six hours. Last night, they also completely suspended traffic through the Medininkai (Kamenny Log) and Šalčininkai (Benyakoni) checkpoints. Moreover, they did this without warning, both the first and the second time. Therefore, such actions came as a complete surprise to those crossing the border. It caused certain problems, including for individuals, and created additional queues. People didn't know what to do next or where to go. So, of course, such actions, closing the border without any warning at all, are unprecedented,” said Vladimir Orlovsky.
Traffic across the border was restored at noon on 25 October. “During the period when the border was closed, the queue of waiting vehicles increased significantly, and it will take a considerable amount of time for them to clear through the border now. There are traffic jams. For cargo vehicles, this is now routine, as Lithuania handles them at a painfully slow rate, just one-tenth of the crossing's capacity. So, the half-day halt in movement will affect them, but not severely. However, for passenger cars, the queue is typically no longer than a day, but because of this closure, people will be stuck at the border for longer,” the chairman of the State Customs Committee said.
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