Lithuania Decided to Follow Poland's Example with Visas for Belarusians

03.01.2011 16:33
Архив Редакция

Lithuanian authorities decided to follow the example of Poland and eliminate national visas' fees for Belarusian citizens. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Azubalis, the Lithuanian side will ensure the ability of the Belarusian citizens to get the Lithuanian national visas free of charge or at symbolic prices.

Such a proposal was made during a meeting with representatives of the Belarusian embassy in Lithuania. As explained by Audronius Azubalis, Lithuania can’t quickly make such a decision unilaterally because of the current law on consular charges. This requires a bilateral agreement, «Narodnaya Volia» reports.

Audronis Azubalis also says that the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry intends to initiate amendments to the law to make such decisions quicker and easier in the future.

As Telegraf previously reported, the Seim of Lithuania had taken a tough stance in the evaluation of presidential elections in Belarus. Seim adopted a resolution on December 23, which declared the last presidential election in Belarus undemocratic. In this regard, the Lithuanian parliament put forward a proposal to renew the sanctions against Belarusian officials.

At the same time, the Polish authorities reacted immediately to the events of December 19 in Belarus. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski made a decision on January 1, 2011 to cancel the fee for issuing of the national Polish visas for Belarusian citizens in the Polish consular offices in the territory of Belarus.

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