Lithuania's national sanctions on Russia, Belarus 'won't work' - Zemaitaitis

VILNIUS - If the European Union failed to extend sanctions against Russia and Belarus, national sanctions would be ineffective, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the ruling Nemunas Dawn party, said on Tuesday.

"National sanctions won't work; it's simply impossible for them to work (...) As I discussed with the prime minister, unless there's a regional agreement, unless Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Germany agree, there's nothing we can do. Just look at the ports, look at where products leave," he told reporters.

The Nemunas Dawn leader was skeptical that other EU countries would follow Lithuania's lead if it decided to impose sanctions on its own.

"Lithuania started a war with China, somehow that idea sank. Lithuania began a friendship with Taiwan, and we ended up with absolutely nothing," he said.

Zemaitaitis also said he doubted Hungary would block the extension of EU sanctions.

"We'll see, but I don't believe it," he said.

As the Seimas prepares to extend Lithuania's national sanctions on Russia for another year, lawmakers are also considering the possibility of introducing economic restrictions on Russia and Belarus if EU-wide sanctions were dropped.

Under the proposed changes, the list of individuals, entities and organizations subject to asset and economic resource freezes would be determined by the government.

The document, seen by BNS, states that such a mechanism would be used only as a last resort.

The EU's current economic sanctions against the Kremlin are set to expire at the end of July, meaning another potential Hungarian veto may need to be overcome to extend them.

President Gitanas Nauseda has said that Lithuania would be ready to impose national economic sanctions on Russia but stressed that EU-wide measures are far more effective.

Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has said that national sanctions cannot match EU-wide restrictions, but if European measures are not extended, national sanctions would only make sense if other countries in the region also applied them.

Saulius Skvernelis, the speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, has also said that if EU sanctions are not renewed, restrictions should be applied at the regional level.

The Lithuanian parliament first imposed national sanctions on Russian and Belarusian citizens in 2023, in response to Russia's war against Ukraine and Belarus' involvement. The law was updated and extended last year

The sanctions mainly include restrictions on Russian and Belarusian nationals, but this year's debate over their extension has sparked discussions among MPs over a ban on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products.

The EU has adopted 16 packages of sanctions on Russia since February 24, 2022, when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. These target individuals as well as sectors of the Kremlin's economy and companies.