By Andrius Sytas
Vilnius (Reuters) – Lithuanian President Gitanas Naudeda said on Wednesday that Lithuanian and Serbian leaders traveled to Moscow to conduct a victory parade of World War II.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are expected to participate in the Russian commemoration of World War II Victory Day in Moscow on May 9.
“These decisions are negative,” Nauseda said in a 15-minute video released by the news website.
Since European Airlines was informed of European airlines in 2021, aircraft traveling between Russia and Europe have often used Lithuanian airspace to avoid shorter routes through Belarus, a punitive measure against Minsk in response to its battle for the landing of the fighter planes to force Ryanair flights.
Ukrainian airspace is another shorter route, with Ukrainian airspace closed since 2022 due to Russian invasion.
Lithuania, which borders Russia and its close Belarus, is the most powerful supporter in the EU, with NATO's three-year-old invasion of Russia.
Slovakia and Hungary on Wednesday condemned the European Commission's plan to phase out Russian gas and other energy imports, deepening the cracks in relations with Moscow.
Nauseda said the ban was due to GPS harassment in the region. He did not name the possible source of this interference, which several European countries had earlier blamed on Russia.
“All those who travel through Lithuania, including leaders, are our top priority, so we made this decision,” Nauseda said.
(Reported by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Edited by Jan Harvey)
