News

On 16 September, the Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrius Krivas attended an annual seminar on the parliamentary dialogue between Belarus, the Nordic Council and the Baltic Assembly, which was organised by the Nordic Council and the Baltic Assembly.

In his speech, the Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister stressed that Lithuania and Belarus shared a common history and culture, and was not indifferent to the development of this neighbouring country. A.Krivas called on Belarus to open the door to Europe, drawing the participants’ attention to the need to facilitate communication and collaboration between citizens of the European Union and Belarus.

The Foreign Vice-Minister expressed hope that during the period of Lithuanian’s Presidency of the EU Council Lithuania Belarus would avail itself of the opportunity to participate in the Eastern Partnership initiative and that outcomes of the Eastern Partnership Summit this autumn would allow us to start a new chapter in the EU-Belarus relationship. Speaking about prospects for the development of the relationship, the Foreign Vice-Minister underlined the need for liberation and rehabilitation of political prisoners in this country.

The Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister was glad that Vilnius, as a city geographically and historically close to Belarus, continued to foster good neighbourliness and hosted meetings to discuss cooperation between the international community and Belarusian public figures.

The dialogue between the Belarusian Parliament and political parties was created through the Nordic Council and the Baltic Assembly in 2007, aiming to promote interparliamentary cooperation between Belarus and the Baltic and Nordic countries.