The Lithuanian parliament rejected the presidential veto and did not impose the same restrictions on Russians and Belarusians

The Lithuanian parliament rejected the veto of the country's President Gitanas Nausėda on a bill that would introduce additional restrictions on citizens of Russia and Belarus due to the war in Ukraine. This is reported on the website of the representative body.

99 deputies voted for the bill in its original version, 7 were against. Two more members of parliament abstained. The innovations imply restrictions for Russians on the purchase of real estate without a temporary or permanent residence permit and tighten the procedure for issuing residence permit and permanent residence documents to citizens of both countries.

The bill also provides for additional checks in cases where Russian citizens enter Lithuania through the external border of the European Union. In addition, Russians were prohibited from applying for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania through an external service provider abroad, while this option was left for Belarusian citizens.

In mid-April, the President of Lithuania vetoed the document. Nausėda proposed applying the same restrictions to both Russians and Belarusians. In addition, according to the politician, the bill should contain provisions that would facilitate the procedure for canceling already issued visas and residence permits and simplify the mechanism for deportation from Lithuania in case of violation of national or international laws.

MP Tomas Tomilinas, arguing for the need to override the presidential veto, said that Lithuania “must give a clear signal to the Belarusian public” and separate the people of Belarus “from the Russian Empire, from the Russian people.” In his opinion, Belarusians support Ukraine, but are “hostages of their dictator.”

After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Lithuanian parliament called Russia’s actions genocide, and Russia itself “a country that commits terrorism.” Last September, the Lithuanian authorities decided not to allow Russians with Schengen visas to cross the border.