Lithuania to keep Belarus border shut until November 30 over balloon incidents

Lithuania Extends Border Closure with Belarus Amid Smuggling Threats

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS (Reuters) -Border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus will remain closed for most travellers until the end of November in response to recent airspace disruptions by smugglers' balloons, the Baltic republic's government said on Wednesday.

"We do not rule out extending this for as long as necessary," Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene told reporters. "If we continue to see attacks directed at Lithuania, we will continue this strict measure."

Belarus' customs authority condemned the measure as a "thoughtless and unfriendly policy" that would harm business in the region.

The balloons, carrying cartons of cigarettes wrapped in packing tape, have caused airports in the European Union member state of 2.9 million people to shut on five occasions this month.

Police have arrested some suspected smugglers arriving to retrieve the packages where balloons have landed, and fines of up to a few thousand euros have been issued.

Ruginiene said on Monday the incidents were a form of hybrid attack and that her country would begin shooting them down.

"We understand this will be an inconvenience to our citizens and businesses, and we regret that, but we view security extremely seriously," Ruginiene told a session of her cabinet.

Exempted from the border closures are diplomats, citizens of EU, NATO countries and Ukraine leaving Belarus, transit to the neighbouring Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, and foreigners with humanitarian visas issued by Lithuania.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that the Lithuanian border closure was a "crazy scam" and he accused the West of fighting a hybrid war against Belarus and Russia that was ushering in a new era of barbed-wire division.

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas; editing by Terje Solsvik, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark Heinrich)