Lithuanian Public Radio informed that the Belarusian embassy has declined to issue a visa to the Lithuanian Member of Parliament Emanuelis Zingeris.  The Parliamentarian was planning to extend Seimas Speaker Irena Degutiene’s congratulations to the Belarusian opposition event by reading her letter.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuanian stated to the Public Radio that this Minsk’s decision isn’t exactly in keeping with the spirit of close neighbourly relations with Lithuania.  This relation was promised two months ago during Belarus President visit to Lithuania.  The Minister Usackas stated that he will summon the Belarusian ambassador to Lithuania to explain the motives behind this decision, even though Minsk does not have to give motives behind visa refusals.

The Minister stated that this Minsk’s action could effect the decision on the future sanctions against Minsk at the European Union foreign ministers meeting next week.

The Ministry’s spokesperson Rolandas Kacinskas told BNS on 13 November “The Foreign Ministry is perplexed about the Belarus authorities refusing entry to Zinger, who was delegated by the Seimas Board to visit Belarus on Saturday and deliver the Seimas speaker’s congratulatory address before a European forum put on by one of opposition leaders Alexander Milinkevich.  This move falls out of the spirit of especially close neighbourly relations”.

MP Zingeris from the Conservative party and the member of the Foreign Affairs Committee said to the Public Radio on 14 November ‘I was suppose to be at the even today, as we speak at 11 am.  I planned to go and congratulate the Belarus democrats and deliver the Seimas speaker’s letter of congratulations. I wasn’t allowed to congratulate the Belarus democrats on the behalf of the entire Seimas, and almost all parliamentary political parties.’

This is a second time when Mr Zingeris was declined visa to Belarus.  The first time Minsk declined Belarusian visa to Zingeris in 2007.