"The European External Action Service has cancelled the high-level visit to Minsk," Rasa Jakilaitiene, the minister's spokeswoman, told BNS.

Linkevicius planned to take part in a meeting of EU Eastern Partnership ministers in Belarus later this week.

The Lithuanian government has recently taken steps to establish a closer dialog with Belarus' authorities, a position criticized by the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats, the biggest opposition party in the parliament.