Lithuanian govt won't move to extend state of emergency on Belarus border – PM

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian government will not ask the parliament to extend the state of emergency on the border with Belarus, at least for now, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Wednesday.   

"We will probably not submit such a proposal," Simonyte told reporters after the Cabinet's meeting.

Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told reporters earlier on Wednesday that her ministry had suggested extending the state of emergency for another month.

"The Interior Ministry has really seriously assessed the situation and sees that the threats have not gone anywhere and the basis for the state of emergency remains, therefore, the Interior Ministry's proposal would be to extend the state of emergency," she said. 

Faced with an unprecedented influx of migrants, Lithuania declared a state of emergency on its border with Belarus on November 10, 2021 and later extended it to midnight January 14. 

On Tuesday, President Gitanas Nauseda called for lifting the state of emergency, stating that "the migrant problem is solved for now". 

More than 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally last year. Lithuania and other Western countries accuse the Minsk regime of orchestrating the unprecedented migration influx, calling it "hybrid aggression".