Skvernelis was commenting on the Cabinet's decision to ease the coronavirus border crossing restrictions to allow arrivals from Belarus "for humanitarian purposes".

"Today, the government discussed primarily the issue of ensuring the security of our borders if the situation in Belarus destabilized and people tried to enter our country for humanitarian reasons – refugees, asylum seekers," the prime minister told a news conference.

"Our state border guard service or other institutions are ready to respond decisively, swiftly and adequately to possible tensions at the border to ensure the security of our state borders," he added.

There is a mechanism for how to deal with political asylum seekers from Belarus and where to isolate them to prevent the spread of the coronavirus from the neighboring country, according to Skvernelis.

"Apart from that political tension in Belarus, we have a really very bad COVID-19 situation there", he noted.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Cabinet lifted coronavirus travel restrictions for foreign students and investors, and people from Belarus seeking entry "for special humanitarian purposes".

One person has died and dozens have been injured in protests that erupted in Belarus after the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday.

According to the Migration Department, over 21,100 Belarusian citizens currently have residence permits in Lithuania, including five people granted asylum. Lithuania has granted asylum to a total of 55 Belarusian citizens over the past decade.

The department told BNS on Wednesday that no Belarusian citizens had applied for asylum in August.

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