Lithuania intends to impose sanctions against Belarus on its own

The Lithuanian government has agreed on amendments to legislation that allow economic restrictions to be imposed against Belarus and Russia in the event of the termination of European sanctions. Vilnius remains one of the most consistent opponents of Lukashenko. He is still the main base of the Belarusian opposition. Recently, the Lithuanian Seimas hosted a meeting of parliamentarians with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, aimed at developing joint approaches to a number of controversial issues. Meanwhile, more and more representatives of the opposition are denying her a credit of trust – the initiative group is preparing a round table to discuss alternatives to her course.

The Lithuanian government has approved amendments to the country’s legislation allowing the imposition of sanctions against Belarus and Russia even if their effect ends at the EU level. The next stage is the consideration of changes in the Seimas. They are expected to enter into force on August 1 this year.

The Lithuanian authorities are in a hurry, as the issue of extending sanctions at the EU level should be resolved in the summer. And in Vilnius, they are afraid that Hungary may block this decision. The bill was initiated by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in early May. And now the final decision belongs to the legislators.

Indeed, a relaxation of the sanctions regime against Belarus cannot be ruled out. Contacts between representatives of the EU and Minsk remain in place, as evidenced by the meeting on Wednesday. However, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus reports about it very sparingly: “On June 4, 2025, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sekreta met with Charge d’affaires of the European Union in the Republic of Belarus Stan Nerlov. The interlocutors discussed the state and prospects of relations between Belarus and the EU, exchanged views on the development of the situation in the EU and Belarus in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres.

Meanwhile, Lithuania remains the main center of the Belarusian opposition. The meeting in the Lithuanian Sejm was another confirmation of Vilnius’ continued support for her. On Wednesday, it hosted a meeting of the inter-factional parliamentary group “For a Democratic Belarus” with the participation of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

According to her press service, the event was held as part of a joint initiative of the Seimas and Tikhanovskaya’s office. Various issues were discussed, ranging from the status of Belarusian volunteers in Lithuania and the problems of integration of Belarusians into Lithuanian society to the rather painful topic of “Litvinism” for Vilnius.

The latter periodically aggravates relations between local residents and Belarusian emigrants. Some of them actively claim the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as part of their search for their national identity. This is reflected in the provocative slogans “Our Village”, which can often be seen on the walls in the capital of Lithuania.

Tikhanovskaya has repeatedly stated that these are all the fruits of the activities of marginals, or even provocateurs. But the problem is that, despite the fact that she positions herself as the only and uncontested leader of the opposition Belarusian emigration, this does not correspond to reality.

Moreover, it became known that the initiative group of her active critics plans to organize a round table to be held on June 21 in Warsaw and, according to the initiators, “find a strategic solution to resolve the Belarusian political crisis.”

Among those who have already expressed their support for him are former prisoners and activists associated with Valery Tsepkalo, who tried to run for the Belarusian presidency in 2020, and his wife Veronika, who, along with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Maria Kolesnikova, became one of the three symbolic protest figures.

The organizers of the round table are going to focus on the topic of “crisis of trust, on the issue of leadership.” It means that part of the opposition has accumulated a lot of questions both to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Pavel Latushko, her deputy in the leadership of the United Transitional Cabinet (MIC).

One of the most painful moments is, of course, the actual prospects of the opposition itself. More and more activists are asking questions about how effective the tactics of unconditional rejection of the existing government in Belarus and calls for Western countries to tighten sanctions pressure on Minsk are.

It is characteristic that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya tried to answer some of these questions in an interview with the Polish edition of Rzeczpospolita, published the other day. Unexpectedly, she stated that the opposition is ready for negotiations with the current government, even if they take place behind closed doors.

Tikhanovskaya stressed: “We always welcome representatives of the regime in various institutions, such as the UN or the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. They react to it in different ways – some respond, some don’t. In the Vatican, our delegation spoke with representatives of the regime, but the content of this conversation will remain within the walls of the Holy See. We are open to dialogue with the Lukashenka regime. There are many topics for discussion.”

She noted that the Defense industry is considering, for example, the experience of the Polish round table, which allowed for the transit of power after the collapse of the socialist system.

However, she is convinced: “But the regime does not want this. They want our surrender, so that we kneel down and voluntarily go to prison. This is not going to happen.”