On 7 July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania summoned a chargés d’affaires ad interim of Belarus to Lithuania and handed in a diplomatic note, informing about a reduction of the diplomatic presence of Belarus in the country in response to continuous, systematic, and unfriendly actions of Belarus.
In accordance with the decision of the Government of Lithuania, the diplomatic staff of the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania shall have to be reduced to one employee (who will be carry out consular functions) by midnight of 12 July 2021. Not more than 3 members of the embassy's staff shall remain to carry out administrative technical functions.
In addition, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry expressed a protest to the Belarusian representative against the continuing violations of human rights and freedoms, the repression of civil society and independent media in Belarus, called for an immediate release of all political prisoners and other illegally detained persons, and for a cessation of illegal migration flows across the Belarusian-Lithuanian state border.
Lithuania took this decision in response to unfriendly actions of the Belarusian authorities. On 6 July, the official Minsk decided to reduce Lithuania’s diplomatic presence in Belarus to a minimum.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania
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