The chief advisor to the President of Lithuania on foreign policy, Asta Skaisgiryte, stated that a final decision on the level of protection for the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has not yet been made.
"As far as I understand, the final decision has not yet been made by the government; it is still being discussed, the issue is being resolved," said Skaisgiryte in an interview with the Ziniu radijas radio station on Tuesday.
According to her, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, believes that Tsikhanouskaya should continue to be under protection, and the level and methods of protection should be determined by the services.
However, the advisor claims that the decision on protection should be political.
"We cannot reduce the decision to technical details, but technically it should be the right, good decision," said Skaisgiryte.
According to her, Tsikhanouskaya's official status in Lithuania remains; she has the status of a guest in the country, and the accreditation issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Belarusian democratic representation is still valid.
"It is obvious that the government will take this complex of reasons into account when making appropriate decisions," said Nausėda's advisor.
BNS reported that in October, Lithuania reduced the level of protection for Tsikhanouskaya and her working premises.
Officials claim that instead of the State Protection Service, her security will now be provided by the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau.
Changes in the security system mean that Tsikhanouskaya's home and office remain protected; however, the leader of the Belarusian opposition has lost personal security in Lithuania and abroad.
In response to statements from some politicians that Tsikhanouskaya might consider moving to Poland, Skaisgiryte stated: "Ms. Tsikhanouskaya is a free person and is not in prison. Of course, if she wanted to, she could consider other options, but our task is to ensure that she feels safe in Lithuania."
Tsikhanouskaya's office stated that they will continue their work despite the changed security regime, but currently only a part of the staff is working in the office. According to them, after Lithuania's recent decisions, the number of threats against them has increased.
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