The ban on the entry of Belarusian cars into Lithuania came into force: there were several hundred of them per day

 "After the ban on entering Lithuania for cars registered in Belarus came into effect on Thursday, two dozen vehicles were not allowed to enter the country within the first few hours.

 

 

 

 Passenger cars with Belarusian license plates will be able to enter the country for another month, if they are driven by their owners who have a residence permit in Lithuania and valid visas, says the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

 

 

 

 "We made a decision that considering our neighborhood, the large flow of Belarusian citizens moving to the European Union through Lithuania and Poland, we need a certain adjustment period," Simon Šatūnas told LRT radio on Thursday.

 

 

 

 "During this month, if the driver is the owner of a car with Belarusian registration and he has a residence permit in Lithuania and a valid visa, such a person will be able to come for another month. If the owner is not in the car, such a car will not be able to arrive," he added.

 

 

 

 As of Thursday midnight, the ban on entering Lithuania for cars with Belarusian registration numbers came into force. Those who arrived at that time must leave or re-register within six months.

 

 

 

 General Director of the Customs Department Darius Žvironas told LRT radio that on Thursday by 7:00 a.m. 16 Belarusian cars were turned over at the Šalčininkai border post in the morning.

 

 

 

 Arūnas Daubaras, the head of the Medininkai border point, told LRT radio that through this point until 8:00 a.m. six cars registered in Belarus tried to enter Lithuania, one of which was allowed in because it was driven by a Lithuanian citizen.

 

 

 

 According to D. Žvironas, about 500 cars enter through the Medininkai and Šalčininkai checkpoints per day, of which 60-70% are registered in Belarus.

 

 

 

 A few days ago, after the ban on the entry of Belarusian cars into Latvia came into force, the head of the Customs Department said that he did not notice that their flows were directed to Lithuania: "Although compared to the volumes of Lithuania, the flows through Latvia are certainly several times smaller - we are talking about 80 cars in one day - this is really not big numbers.”

 

 

 

 Passenger cars with Belarusian license plates already on the territory of Lithuania must leave by January 18 of the following year. After this date, they will not be able to be in Lithuania, and their owners will face a fine and confiscation of the car.

 

 

 

 Cars with Russian license plates, except in the case of transit to or from Kaliningrad, have not been allowed into Lithuania since September last year."