Lithuania's top envoy warned that a surge in cases of weather balloons ferrying smuggled goods from neighboring Belarus would harm Minsk's ambitions to seek an accord with the US.
The European Union must move urgently on tapping Russian frozen assets as a way to gain a seat at the negotiating table over peace in Ukraine, Lithuania's top diplomat said.
The Lithuanian government decided Wednesday to reopen the country's two border crossings with Belarus, weeks after they were closed following disruptions at the capital's airport caused by balloons used to smuggle cigarettes across the frontier.