The US Embassy in Minsk urged its citizens to leave Belarus immediately following the closure of two border crossings between the country and Lithuania, it was announced on Monday.
“American citizens in Belarus must immediately leave the country,” reads a note published on the website of the US diplomatic mission in Belarus, an ally of Moscow.
Washington recalled that the Lithuanian government recently closed two border crossings with Belarus and only four other points remain open.
“The governments of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have said that additional border crossing points with Belarus may be closed,” the US office in Minsk warned.
For this reason, the embassy asked the Americans to consider leaving Belarus through open border crossings with Latvia, Lithuania, “or by plane.”
“American citizens cannot enter Poland by land from Belarus. Do not travel to Russia or Ukraine,” the US Embassy in Minsk added.
The diplomatic mission also stressed that at present its ability to provide assistance to Americans traveling or living in Belarus is “limited.”
Vilnius last week announced the closure of two border crossings with Belarus in response to the presence of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner in the neighboring country.
The fighters of the Wagner group, which actively participated in the war in Ukraine, were transferred to Belarus after a short June uprising against the Russian military hierarchy.
The closure of two checkpoints was also motivated by the fight against smuggling, given that the remaining four checkpoints are equipped with X-ray detection systems, unlike those that are now closed.
According to Lithuanian media, this measure may be the first step towards the complete closure of the border with Belarus.
Relations between the two countries have always been tense, but worsened further after the disputed 2020 presidential election in Belarus, which sparked demonstrations in Minsk that were brutally suppressed by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
In Minsk, the decision of the Lithuanian neighbor was called far-fetched.
Belarus supports Russia in the war against Ukraine, which Moscow launched with an invasion of the neighboring country on February 24, 2022.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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