On September 9–10, the Director of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office in Vilnius, Dzianis Kuchynski, met with the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Donatas Augulis, and the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen. Both meetings took place at Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office in Vilnius.
The parties discussed:
- Bus connections with Belarus. Restrictions modeled on Latvia’s decision to completely halt bus services to Belarus and Russia starting in 2027 have been proposed in Lithuania. The meetings addressed how to ensure that these restrictions do not affect Belarusians;
- Expanded access to Lithuanian language courses for Belarusians. Belarusians want to learn the language and participate in the country’s civic life, but there are not enough places in the courses;
- Preparations for possible releases of political prisoners who may be transferred to Lithuania. Dzianis Kuchynski thanked Lithuania for helping with documents and legal status for those who have already been released;
- Support for the European Humanities University. Mr. Kuchynski presented Lithuanian partners with a vision for how the EHU could be helped to overcome its current crisis following the regime’s decision to recognize it as an “extremist organization”;
- The security of Lithuania and the region and the militarization of Belarus. Dzianis Kuchynski shared his assessment of domestic developments in Belarus, the military and political situation, and the risks of Russia using Belarusian territory for aggression against neighboring countries. The sides noted that they share the same assessment of the situation;
- Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The parties addressed possible formats for Belarusian participation in events and meetings, as well as keeping Belarus-related issues in focus.
Dzianis Kuchynski: “We know about the problems Belarusians face in Lithuania. And our priority is to resolve them wherever possible. It is important to us that Belarusians in Lithuania can learn the language, receive an education, and participate in the country’s civic life. We see that discussions on various restrictions are expected in the Seimas this fall, and we are already actively working with partners to communicate our position and protect the interests of Belarusians”.
