Latvia’s initiative to halt bus passenger services to and from Russia and Belarus will not be immediately adopted by Lithuania.
Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications Jurs Taminskas said the country was closely monitoring developments but would not make decisions hastily. Taminskas said Lithuania should not determine its position based on domestic political developments in Latvia.
Arvidas Anusauskas is panicking. Let him panic; we will assess the situation calmly. We are always vigilant and constantly reviewing developments. We are doing that at regular intervals now as well, but we will not take sudden steps.
Taminskas also said many decisions would be made in Latvia as elections approached. The minister noted that these decisions could affect the elections scheduled for October.
Measure submitted in Latvia for a ban from 2027
Conservative lawmaker Arvidas Anusauskas, a member of Lithuania’s Christian Democratic Party, had asked the government to join Latvia’s plan to ban bus services to and from Russia and Belarus.
Anusauskas had argued that if the ban were not adopted, all routes could be redirected to Lithuania, turning the country into a kind of transit point.
Latvia’s Transport Ministry had submitted amendments to the road transport law to the government that would completely ban passenger bus services to Russia and Belarus from 2027.