LITHUANIA HOLDS SUB-MINISTERIAL LEVEL DIALOGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000540

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2016
TAGS: PREL LH BO
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA HOLDS SUB-MINISTERIAL LEVEL DIALOGUE
WITH BELARUS

REF: A. VILNIUS 175 B. VILNIUS 75 C. VILNIUS 442

Classified By: Pol/econ officer Traver Gudie for reasons 1.4 (,d)


1. (C) Summary. Subcabinet-level officials from the
Lithuanian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries held annual
bilateral meetings June 1-3. Discussions focused on the
impending increase in visa fees for Belarusians, the closure
of Lithuania's consulate in Grodno, and economic and
environmental issues. The discussions, which are permitted
under the EU's agreed rules of engagement with the Lukashenko
regime, mark the importance of ties between the neighboring
countries, and Lithuania's commitment to keep working-level
relationships with Belarusians alive. End Summary.

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Lithuania maintains low-level engagement of Belarus
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2. (C) Lithuanian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Albinas
Januska and Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander
Mikhnevich led their respective delegations in discussions in
the Lithuanian seaside town of Palanga on economic,
environmental, and consular issues. Newly-appointed Belarus
Division Head Gudynas provided a readout of the meetings. He
stressed that the annual consultations with Belarus reflect
Lithuania's bifurcated Belarus policy. The GOL pursues
stronger international condemnation of Lukashenko's regime
and support for the Belarusian opposition. At the same time,
it nurtures lower-level government contacts to protect the
bilateral economic relationship and seek to influence a cadre
of officials with Western ideas. Although Belarusian
delegates seldom deviate from the party line, Gudynas said,
they privately acknowledge Lithuania's success and enjoy
shopping in Vilnius's large mall.

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Talks Avoided Democracy Issues
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3. (C) Gudynas said that the consultations avoided sensitive
political issues such as Lithuania's support for democracy in
Belarus, since both sides are well aware of the other's
position. The Belarusian side had proposed as an agenda item
and prepared talking points about the European Humanities
University, an independent Belarusian University exiled in
Vilnius, but did not raise it in the meeting. The talks
focused on visa fees, environmental concerns such as the
pollution of the Nemunas river that flows from Belarus to
Lithuania, outstanding commercial claims, and cargo transit
between the two countries. (Note: Belarusian trade accounts
for about one-quarter of the volume at Lithuania's major
port, Klaipeda.)

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One Ministry, Two Belarus Desks
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4. (C) Gudynas told us that his appointment in May to the
previously vacant post heading the MFA's Belarus Division
effectively splits the Belarus portfolio between him and
Renatas Juska of the Foreign Policy Analysis Department, the
MFA's de facto lead on Belarus. Gudynas will handle official
contacts with the Belarusian government, a task for which he
previously had responsibility in an Interior Ministry post.
Juska will continue handling what Gudynas called the
"underground work," contacts with Belarusian opposition
members, training for youth activists, and information
dissemination programs in Belarus. This arrangement
insulates Lithuania's low-level diplomatic contacts with
Belarus, he argued, from its more aggressive pro-democracy
tactics.

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MFA: Rising visa fees will isolate Belarusian people
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5. (C) Both Belarusian and Lithuanian officials fear that a
visa fee increase following Lithuania's anticipated entry
into the Schengen zone (probably in January 2007) will
effectively shut Lithuania's border to most Belarusians. The
harmonized Schengen fee of 60 euros is prohibitively
expensive, Gudynas said, to Belarusians wanting to take the
four-hour train to Vilnius to go shopping, attend courses at
EHU, or participate in international conferences. The GOL
worries that "people-to-people contact" between Belarusians
and other Europeans will fall dramatically, hurting efforts
to foster democracy. Since Lithuania reduced the visa fee
from 20 to five euros, travel of Belarusians to Lithuania

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more than doubled, he said.


6. (C) Despite the GOL's attempts to lobby European partners
(refs A and B),Lithuania accepts that there will be no
general exception from Schengen rules for Belarus. The GOL
intends to appeal for exceptions for students, NGO members on
business, those living within 50 km of the border, and
first-time visitors to the EU. The increase in visa fees and
other Schengen rules are prompting Lithuania to close its
consulate in Grodno, and the sides discussed practical
questions about the property's disposal and moving consular
services and personnel to Minsk. Gudynas told us he was
pleasantly surprised that the Belarusian delegation also
supported exceptions to the rise in visa fees, although they
will have little influence on any decision.

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Lithuania to Increase Support for Civil Society in Belarus
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7. (C) Although the GOL did not raise civil society at the
bilateral consultations, Gudynas said that the MFA intended
to step up its support for broad, "not necessarily political"
civil society programs in Belarus. Much of Lithuania's
500,000 euros in assistance to Belarus leading up to the
March elections paid for opposition efforts, like
distribution of pro-opposition information and non-violent
resistance training for youth groups. "Now," said Guldynas,
"we want to try harder to support civil society going from
the bottom up, since we cannot do it top down." One
mechanism the GOL hopes to use is the proposed European
Democracy Fund, which Lithuania pushed during the May 3
Community for Democratic Choice summit in Vilnius (ref C).
Lithuania has pledged 100,000 litas ($37,000) to the fund,
which would give grants to support NGOs and civil society in
Eastern Europe, and is looking for commitments from other
partners. Gudynas said that Lithuania has secured informal
pledges from five other countries to support the Fund. The
MFA hopes to host a conference in Fall 2006 to solicit
donations and nominate the Fund's board.

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Comment
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8. (C) The appointment of a new official to the MFA's Belarus
Division and plans to redirect Lithuania's assistance to
Belarus suggest that Lithuania's dualistic (or, less
generously, schizophrenic) approach to its authoritarian
neighbor is entering a less confrontational phase. Our take
is that this reflects the GOL's recognition that Lukashenko
has survived the risks posed by the elections last March and
is likely to remain in power for some time. Lithuania's
strategic interest in a democratic Belarus is unchanged, but
its policy of periodic engagement remains in place.
MULL