Increasing migrant flows from Belarus mean that we need to do more patrolling, say border guards at Tverečius checkpoint in eastern Lithuania. As this section of the border is not equipped with surveillance systems, officers rely on assistance from local residents.

On July 1st, Andrey Sharenda and Olga Pavlova slipped unseen past what looked like a Belarusian border guard camp set up metres from Lithuania. Moments later, a few dozen migrants crossed the border after them.

Belarusian university students have been forced to flee after attending protests and subsequently being expelled, persecuted and imprisoned. Some have found their way to Lithuania.

Lithuania has shown solidarity with Belarus through advocacy, hosting Tsikhanouskaya and many other initiatives by their civil society. This has also been noticed at the Kremlin.

Kiryl Kryvicki, a student at Vytautas Magnus University and an active member of the Belarusian community in Vilnius, talks to LRT English about why the political opposition in Belarus does not celebrate the independence day on July 3.

Interview with Anna Maria Dyner on the regional context of the upcoming meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Interviewer: Iwona Reichardt.

How can barriers between two historically close countries like Belarus and Lithuania be lowered or eliminated? What are the prospects of improved relations between the two states? Ultimately, closer ties between ordinary Belarusians and Lithuanians could serve as the best guarantor of closer political relations.

During his September 2018 visit to Vilnius, Pope Francis quoted Lithuania’s national anthem and encouraged people to “draw strength from the past”. He reiterated what is often common knowledge: for one to look to the future, one must first know and make peace with the past. In theory the same logic could apply to Lithuania and Belarus, two neighbours that, over the centuries, have spent more time together – that is, belonging to (or being ruled by) the same state – than apart.