VILNIUS: The Lithuanian government will reopen two border crossings with Belarus on Thursday that were closed because of smugglers’ balloons crossing the frontier, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said.
He told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday the restrictions were “no longer necessary to ensure internal security.”
The Salcininkai-Benyakoni and Medininkai-Kamenny crossings were closed for one month from October 30, due to the threat to aviation after dozens of balloons loaded with illegal cigarettes entered Lithuanian airspace.
The balloons forced the temporary closure of airports in Vilnius and Kaunas, affecting thousands of passengers. The Lithuanian government and European Union denounced the incidents as a “hybrid attack.”
The border closure inflamed tensions between Lithuania and Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
Belarus seized around 2,000 Lithuanian trucks, which had been stranded in the country following the closure of crossings.
Oleg Tarasov, vice president of Linava, the Lithuanian road carriers’ association, told AFP that an estimated 60 million euros ($69 million) in assets were stuck in Belarus one day after the border closed.
Vilnius officials previously noted that the flow of contraband-carrying balloons had decreased following the shutdown.
After Poland reopened two of its border crossing checkpoints with Belarus on Monday, Lithuanian and Belarusian border officials held talks on smuggling, the stranded trucks, and migration issues.
Several individuals were arrested in Lithuania this month on suspicion of involvement in smuggling.
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Lithuania to reopen Belarus border after balloons forced shutdown
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Lithuania to reopen Belarus border after balloons forced shutdown
- The Salcininkai-Benyakoni and Medininkai-Kamenny crossings were closed for one month
- The balloons forced the temporary closure of airports in Vilnius and Kaunas
First charter jet brings French nationals home from Middle East
- A first charter flight carrying French nationals stranded in the Middle East since the start of the war with Iran landed at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris early Wednesday
PARIS: A first charter flight carrying French nationals stranded in the Middle East since the start of the war with Iran landed at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris early Wednesday.
Governments and airlines have been scrambling to repatriate tens of thousands of travelers stranded after the eruption of a regional conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
France is among the most affected Western nations, with an estimated 400,000 nationals present in around 15 countries touched by the conflict.
The aircraft chartered by Air France left Muscat, the capital of Oman, Tuesday evening and landed in France shortly before 3:00 am Wednesday.
“We never thought this would happen,” said passenger Emmy Coutelier, 18.
When the first strikes hit Dubai, she was in the hotel swimming pool with her boyfriend.
After hugging her sister, who had come to meet her at the airport, a still-shaken Coutelier recounted her experience. “An alarm sounded in the middle of the night telling us not to stay near the windows,” she said.
“We went down to the basement,” she added. When Coutelier boarded the repatriation flight, she said she felt as if she were “fleeing danger, even though it’s a relatively safe country.”
The plane carried staff of the airline as well as many families, young children, and pregnant women, government minister Eleonore Caroit told reporters at the airport.
“It was a complex process, with constant uncertainty because we are in a very fluid situation, with airspace opening and closing and the situation changing from hour to hour,” Caroit added.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told broadcaster France 2 there would be several flights on Wednesday, including one to repatriate French nationals from the United Arab Emirates.
Another flight, out of Egypt, will bring back “some of our most vulnerable compatriots” from Israel, he said.
More French nationals are getting in contact with consular authorities, “but not all of them want to return to France,” said Caroit.
Governments and airlines have been scrambling to repatriate tens of thousands of travelers stranded after the eruption of a regional conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
France is among the most affected Western nations, with an estimated 400,000 nationals present in around 15 countries touched by the conflict.
The aircraft chartered by Air France left Muscat, the capital of Oman, Tuesday evening and landed in France shortly before 3:00 am Wednesday.
“We never thought this would happen,” said passenger Emmy Coutelier, 18.
When the first strikes hit Dubai, she was in the hotel swimming pool with her boyfriend.
After hugging her sister, who had come to meet her at the airport, a still-shaken Coutelier recounted her experience. “An alarm sounded in the middle of the night telling us not to stay near the windows,” she said.
“We went down to the basement,” she added. When Coutelier boarded the repatriation flight, she said she felt as if she were “fleeing danger, even though it’s a relatively safe country.”
The plane carried staff of the airline as well as many families, young children, and pregnant women, government minister Eleonore Caroit told reporters at the airport.
“It was a complex process, with constant uncertainty because we are in a very fluid situation, with airspace opening and closing and the situation changing from hour to hour,” Caroit added.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told broadcaster France 2 there would be several flights on Wednesday, including one to repatriate French nationals from the United Arab Emirates.
Another flight, out of Egypt, will bring back “some of our most vulnerable compatriots” from Israel, he said.
More French nationals are getting in contact with consular authorities, “but not all of them want to return to France,” said Caroit.
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