Trump's envoy held a secret meeting in Lithuania ahead of his trip to Minsk
Ahead of his visit to Minsk, U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus John Cole held closed-door meetings in Vilnius with Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene and other politicians. They discussed Lithuania’s reluctance to cooperate at the political level with Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. The meeting was not previously reported due to a possible “sensitive reaction” from the Belarusian leader.
This was reported with reference to LRT.
It is reported that John Cole met in Vilnius with Lithuanian Seimas members Ignas Vegelė and Rimas Jankūnas, as well as Member of the European Parliament Petras Gražulis. The latter stated that he discussed with Trump’s representative Lithuania’s unwillingness to cooperate at the political level with the Belarusian authorities. He said that Minsk is putting pressure on Vilnius, calling for a dialogue at the ministerial level, but Lithuania refuses to do so.
This pressure manifests itself, in particular, in the sending of balloons carrying contraband across the border, which occasionally disrupt operations at Vilnius Airport, as well as in the detention of Lithuanian trucks and semi-trailers.
“We agreed not to publicize this meeting too much, because Alexander Lukashenko reacts very sensitively. We discussed all the most pressing issues today—relations with Belarus, the Lithuanian side’s refusal to form a delegation—and to conduct negotiations at the political level to resolve all issues,” Grazulis noted.
Gražulis also stated that he had the impression that the Lithuanian trucks detained by the Belarusian authorities might be released. Furthermore, according to him, John Cole “expressed hope of distancing Lukashenko’s regime from Vladimir Putin, although it is not yet clear how this can be done.”
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