Lithuanian Parliament approves restrictions against Belarusian and Russian citizens, bypassing Nauseda’s veto

20 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Lithuanian Parliament, popularly known as Seimas, has approved this Thursday a law to apply different sanctions against citizens of Russia and Belarus in the framework of the war in Ukraine, thus avoiding the veto promoted by the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nauseda, a supporter of one legislation.

A total of 99 deputies have voted in favor of approving the law without the amendment proposed by the Lithuanian president, while seven votes against and two abstentions have been registered, according to the BNS news agency.

According to the finally approved law, from May 2 of this year to May 3 of next year, both Russian and Belarusian citizens will not be able to obtain Lithuanian visas or resident status, nor will they be able to buy real estate and import grivnas, the currency ukrainian.

Nauseda vetoed the rule on Friday, arguing that while he supported imposing restrictions against citizens of Russia and Belarus, he saw no need to introduce separate legislation for citizens of these two states. In this sense, the president was in favor of applying a single legislation in this regard.

Nauseda’s proposal sought to prevent temporary residence permit applications submitted by Russian and Belarusian citizens for one year from being accepted unless authorized by the relevant government agencies.

Following the suggestions of the Lithuanian president, it would be the citizens of both countries – who lack a residence permit in Lithuania – who would not be able to acquire real estate in the territory, for at least one year.