"A clear strategy is needed. Europe has to answer the question as to how to get Belarus close to Europe without making steps that would push it towards the Kremlin. Sanctions in this case are a double-edged sword," Kubilius has said in an interview to Belorussian opposition website charter97.org.
The prime minister believes Lithuania should convince the European Union to follow a clear strategy towards the whole Eastern European space.
"I believe Europeans need a wider look on the Eastern European space, including Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Belarus is a special case. If no significant changes take plane around it, then it will be difficult to change something inside Belarus," the Lithuanian premier said.
Following a short-lived improvement, Minsk's relation with the West soured following the presidential election in December 2010 when the country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected. Scores of people, including many opposition members, who protested against the election results were later detained.
The European Union later decided to re-apply previous and impose new sanctions against Minsk.
Lithuania is of a position that the EU should not use any sanctions that would affect ordinary Belorussian people.
