"It was underlined during the meeting that the Belorussian government's decision on the expulsion of Swedish diplomats will affect not only bilateral relations between Sweden and Belarus but will also have an impact on relations between the EU and Belarus," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The neighboring country's ambassador was informed that the EU would review its future policy towards Belarus taking into consideration the country's actions towards Swedish diplomats and Belorussian internal policy trends, including the situation around political prisoners and civil society as well as the upcoming parliamentary elections.
"Taking into account Belarus' recent actions, the EU intends to consider limiting political contacts with Belarus," the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The representatives of Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Lithuania, as well as other EU member states, were interested in keeping regular diplomatic relations with Belarus and in maintaining and strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Eastern partnership. Normalization of EU-Belorussian relations will depend on Minsk's future actions, they said.
Last week, EU representatives decided against a mass recall of diplomats from Minsk but warned that the level of diplomatic sanctions against Belarus would be reviewed. Following a Friday meeting in Brussels, it was announced that "a very clear message" will be sent to Minsk "in the upcoming days".
The scandal broke out after Swedish activists announced last month they had flown into the territory of Belarus on 4 July and air-dropped hundreds of teddy bears with messages promoting the freedom of speech and human rights.
President Alexander Lukashenko told all Swedish diplomats to leave the country and threatened to take actions against Lithuania.
The EU has imposed sanctions against Belarus for opposition persecution.
