Lithuania prepares new sanctions: restrictions on Russians and Belarusians may be significantly tightened
The Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs of Lithuania has asked the government to prepare a new draft law on expanding national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens.
As reported by Censor.NET, LRT writes this.
What the Seimas decided
The committee unanimously backed the government’s proposal to extend the current sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens until 2028.
At the same time, lawmakers believe the existing restrictions are insufficient and need to be tightened.
What restrictions are being proposed
Lithuanian conservatives have proposed a number of additional measures:
- to equalise sanctions for Russian and Belarusian citizens;
- to suspend the issuance of new residence permits for Belarusians;
- to restrict travel to Russia and Belarus;
- to allow property purchases only for Lithuania’s permanent residents;
- to ban the purchase of housing near strategic facilities.
Why the decision was postponed
Despite backing the ideas, the committee has not yet approved these proposals.
The reason is that, under the law, only the government has the right to initiate new sanctions restrictions.
Committee chair Remigijus Motuzas said the government would be asked to assess the proposed changes and prepare its own draft law on sanctions in connection with the war against Ukraine.
For his part, conservative lawmaker Audronius Ažubalis expressed surprise that Lithuania still takes a different approach to Russian and Belarusian citizens despite public sentiment over their ties to Russia.
