Lithuania to issue special passports to Belarus citizens staying legally in the Baltic country

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania says it will issue special travel documents to Belarusian citizens in the Baltic country who were stripped of the right to get new passports by Minsk. The Interior Ministry said on Monday that such “foreigner passports” will be granted to those who have the right to reside in Lithuania but don’t have a passport or a corresponding travel document. Minsk has announced that it will no longer issue passports to citizens permanently residing abroad in a move considered as a blow to the Belarusian emigrant communities. Lithuania’s official figures list more than 58,000 Belarusian citizens as residing in Lithuania, including members of the opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russia.