Why have tension erupted between Belarus and Lithuania over alleged airspace violations?
This comes after the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Belarusian incursions into the Lithuanian airspace are "hybrid attacks," after which Belarus representative in Brussels was summoned.
New Delhi: In the most recent case of diplomatic escalations between the two, Belarus and Lithuania had heated exchange of words and issued official protests. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and Lithuania, a European Union member, both were seen engaging over a tussle regarding airspace violations.
Lithuania complained to the EU after Vilnius airport said on Sunday it was forced to halt flights due to suspected balloons in Lithuanian airspace.
Escalations over airspace violation
Lithuania in its accusations has said that weather balloons flown by smugglers are obstructing airways in the country. These balloons are reportedly being used to transport contraband cigarettes and the country is blaming Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for engaging in the practice.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry also accused Lithuania of being behind the purported drone incident and as a result Lithuania’s charge d’ affaires were called in to the Foreign Ministry in Minsk. Tensions between the two nations already run high, with Belarus accusing Lithuania of deploying a drone to spy on it and drop "extremist material.”
"Yesterday, a UAV (drone) of unknown origin was found on one of the streets of Grodno,” the statement read, referring to the city of some 360,000 in western Belarus. Further adding that, "During the inspection by the police, it was found that the drone is equipped with a photo and video camera with the ability to collect intelligence data. In addition, extremist printed materials were dropped from the drone.”
In an attempt to substantiate its claims, the ministry has also published some photographs. These include one of a small drone lying on the pavement and seen next to the drone were small white-red-white flags which are traditionally believed to be a symbol of opposition to Lukashenko. Reportedly the claim further states that the drone was launched from Kapciamiestis, a village in Lithuania near the borders with Belarus and Poland.
The allegations have been taken further, with the head of the EU’s European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, saying on social media X that the situation at the border was "worsening” with growing numbers of balloon incursions. "Such hybrid attack by the Lukashenko regime is completely unacceptable,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre meanwhile has denied the airspace violation allegations, saying to news publication Reuters that, "It is not the first time the Belarusian regime is inventing stories and hurling accusations at Western countries and Lithuania.”