By Andrew Sytas
Vilnius (Reuters) – Lithuania has closed its airspace to thefts carrying the Slovak and Serbian leaders in Moscow for its victory for the victory of the Second World War, said President Gitanas Nasseda on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Slovak Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are among the leaders who are expected to attend commemorations of the Second World War victory day in Moscow, which Russia celebrates on May 9.
“The decisions are negative,” said NasesEda in a video published by the News 15min website, in response to a question about overview authorizations of the two leaders.
Aircraft traveling between Russia and Europe have generally used Lithuanian airspace since European carriers were informed in 2021 to avoid the shorter road through the Belarus in the context of punitive measures against Minsk so that it rushes to a war plane to force the landing of a Ryanair flight.
The Ukrainian airspace, another shorter route, has been closed since 2022 due to the Russian invasion.
Lithuania, which borders Russia and its close ally of Bélarus, is among the strongest supporters of the European Union and NATO of Ukraine against the invasion of Russia of three years.
Slovakia and Hungary sentenced the European Commission for Russian gas and other imports of energy on Wednesday, deepened their rift with Brussels for relations with Moscow.
Naseseda said the ban was due to GPS disturbances in the region. He did not appoint the possible source of jamming, that several European countries have previously blamed Russia.
“The security of all people traveling through Lithuania, including managers, is our highest priority, so we have made this decision,” said Naseseda.
(Report by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; edition by Jan Harvey)
