Lithuanian foreign minister refuses Lukashenko offer of talks on reopening border

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FILE PHOTO: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends an expanded format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk, Belarus June 27, 2025. Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

VILNIUS/MOSCOW - Lithuanias foreign minister said he would refuse talks with Belarus on reopening their border, after its President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday ordered his foreign minister to open the negotiations.

Lithuania last month closed the two border crossings with its neighbour until the end of November in response to repeated incursions by weather balloons flying from Belarus that have disrupted air traffic and caused closures at Vilnius airport.

Lithuania says the balloons are flown by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes and blames Belarus for not stopping the practice, calling it a form of hybrid attack.

LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTON

Lukashenko does not set the rules... My insistent recommendation to my government will be to not follow the route which they are trying to force on us, foreign minister Kestutis Budrys told Lithuanian news website 15min.lt.

We are not left alone, we have full involvement of the USA, Budrys said, speaking from Washington and referring to his meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trumps special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, on Monday.

Trump has increased U.S. engagement with the authoritarian state, sending multiple delegations to Minsk this year, while Lukashenko is seeking to repair relations with