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Lithuanian businesspeople who met with Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk on Thursday asked him to ensure that a draft interstate agreement on local border traffic is signed as soon as possible, according to the press office of the Belarusian leader, BelaPAN reports.
Under the draft agreement, a special local border traffic permit would allow people who reside in the 50-kilometer border area in Belarus and Lithuania to travel to the other country without a visa. The agreement was expected to have been signed as far back as September 2009.
"Without your personal intervention, Mr. President, both sides will beat about the bush for a very long time," Lubys Bronislovas, president of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, told Mr. Lukashenka.
The Belarusian leader, for his part, ordered the State Border Committee to report to him on the details of the matter "to prevent delays in making this important decision," the press office said.
According to the Lithuanian delegation, the agreement would allow Belarus and Lithuania to make a very good use of the airport in Hrodna.
"The airport in Hrodna, not in Vilnius, will thereby become the main one for the southern part of Lithuania," Dr. Lubys said.
Mr. Lukashenka welcomed the idea, the press office said. "This project and your readiness to carry it out are to my liking," he said. "We're ready to invest energy and funds in it."
"The time of ruining our economic relations is over and the time has come for creation, not only in the economic sphere but also in the political one," Dr. Lubys said. "We're happy that both our authorities and your team continue a political dialogue."
The agreement on local border traffic was expected to have been signed during Alyaksandr Lukashenka's visit to Vilnius on September 16, 2009. According to Lithuanian media reports, Minsk asked for additional time to “complete internal procedures." In December, Lithuanian MEP Justas Paleckis accused Minsk of delaying the signing of the agreement.
Edminas Bagdonas, the Lithuanian ambassador to Belarus, told reporters earlier this month that Minsk had asked Vilnius to consider an amendment that would provide for a registration requirement for Lithuanians who would like to travel to Belarus without a visa.