The integration processes between Russia and Belarus should be torpedoed so that the republic retains “as much independence as possible”.
This statement was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius in an interview with the publication “Present.”
According to him, preventing Russian-Belarusian cooperation is an important task for a country like Lithuania.
“We would really like to contribute to ensuring that the country [Belarus] retains as much independence as possible,” the official said, emphasizing that Vilnius is also interested in this.
At the same time, Linkevičius also called the method of “luring” Belarusians to the West. So, he proposed to provide the republic with the notorious visa-free regime, as citizens of Belarus “pay more for visas than Russians.” True, the diplomat immediately made a reservation that they would still have to “earn a visa-free status” through the “reforms” that Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova had already carried out.
“For example, the countries of the Eastern Partnership – Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova – received a visa-free regime. They earned it through the necessary reforms. It’s real, though Belarusians, unfortunately, are not in a hurry from the point of view of negotiations, ”Linkevičius stated.