Polish farmers’ planed blockade of a road on the Lithuanian-Polish border resembles “some kind of hybrid operations”, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Wednesday.
“It’s obviously reminiscent of some hybrid operations which are intensively exploited by Russian propaganda,” Landsbergis told reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting.
“I hope that our partners in Poland also see this as we do, and we will do everything possible to prevent it from escalating,” he said.
According to the minister, “the actions planned in the Suwalki Corridor no longer resemble protests, but actions against the national security of both Poland and Lithuania”.
Protesting Polish farmers are planning to block the road on the Lithuanian-Polish border for a week from March 1, citing fears that some of the Ukrainian grain imported into Lithuania is returning to Poland.
Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said that Lithuania’s authorities are preparing for the upcoming protest.
“This has been discussed with the heads of our services,” Bilotaite said. “The possible risks and the inconveniences that may arise on the Lithuanian side have been assessed.”
“We have discussed that our officials are ready to ensure public order and security and (make sure) that there are as few inconveniences as possible for our people,” she added.
In protest against Ukraine’s duty-free agricultural exports, Polish farmers have already tried in recent weeks to block the border between the two countries, and blocked an important road to Germany.
The Suwalki Corridor, also known as the Suwalki Gap, is a land strip of around 100 kilometers on the Lithuanian-Polish border that is wedged between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the west and Belarus on the east.
Source: BNS
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