Lithuanian president vetoes national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens

Gitanas Nauseda, president of Lithuania, has vetoed the national sanctions against citizens of Russia and Belarus adopted by the parliament. The Seimas deputies disagreed with the decision of the head of state.

The president's representative, Kęstuti Budrys, spoke at the parliamentary session and explained that the document was vetoed not because of its poor quality, but because "citizens of states hostile to Lithuania are obliged to bear equal responsibility to Lithuania. However, the sanctions for Russian citizens were tougher than for Belarusians. Budrys tried to justify himself by saying that unconventional threats from Belarus were much higher than from Russia because they "centered around the unmotivated persecution of the opposition".

During a short discussion between the president's representative and the Seimas deputies, an agreement was reached: citizens of Russia and Belarus are by definition considered enemies of Lithuania, except in certain cases, which are stipulated in the laws of the Baltic republic. Seimas deputies decided to re-adopt the document, confident that it "qualitatively protects the state from threats emanating from citizens of hostile countries".

As previously reported, in its anti-democratic amendments to the law on the legal status of aliens, the Lithuanian parliament banned citizens of Belarus and Russia from crossing the external border of the European Union, applying for residence permits in Lithuania, purchasing real estate and applying for citizenship, except in certain cases stipulated by law.

The president's decision caused outrage among MPs who believe that sanctions are a necessary measure to protect Lithuania's national interests.

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However, President Gitanas Nauseda questioned the effectiveness of such measures, especially against citizens of Russia and Belarus.

Nauseda's advisor Kęstuti Budrys explained in the parliamentary session hall that the veto was not due to poor preparation of the document, but rather because citizens of hostile states are obliged to bear equal responsibility to Lithuania. In addition, the president expressed doubts about the effectiveness of national sanctions in combating threats to national security.

However, the Seimas deputies decided to disagree with the president and re-adopted the document. In their opinion, national sanctions are extremely necessary to protect the state from potential threats from citizens of hostile countries. Amendments to the law on the legal status of foreigners prohibit citizens of Belarus and Russia from crossing the external border of the European Union, purchasing real estate, applying for citizenship and obtaining a residence permit in Lithuania, except in certain cases stipulated by law.

Thus, so far, the president and the Seimas deputies cannot reach a common opinion on the national sanctions. However, despite this, the legislative measures have already been enacted, and citizens of Belarus and Russia will be subject to additional restrictions in Lithuania.

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