The Lithuanian Parliament overruled the president’s veto on a special law on sanctions imposed against citizens of Russia and Belarus, DPA and Agerpres agencies reported on Thursday.
On Thursday, at the People’s Assembly of the Seimas in Vilnius, the majority of 141 members of the parliament voted to adopt the law without the amendments proposed by President Gitanas Nauseda. In this way, the initial version of the law was approved, which provides for smaller sanctions against Belarusians than Russians.
Nauseda justified his veto by saying that there are no grounds for a different assessment from the point of view of Lithuania’s national security. He insisted that Belarusian citizens and organizations be subject to the same sanctions as Russians when it comes to visas, residence permits, real estate purchases and other activities.
The government and the opposition had different opinions on the proposal.
The leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svitlana Tikhanovskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, called for the easing of restrictions for Belarusians.
The parliament passed the law in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is seen as a direct threat to the national security of the Baltic state. The decree will enter into force on May 3 and will initially be valid for one year.
Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea and Russia’s close ally Belarus.
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Source: Hot News
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