(Politico) The number of migrants crossing into Lithuania from Belarus could top 10,000 by the end of the summer, Lithuania’s foreign minister warned as he urged the EU to “step up” actions to stop the arrivals.
Gabrielius Landsbergis told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook that Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko is using migrants as a “political weapon” by welcoming planeloads of alleged “tourists” from Iraq, Syria and African countries. Many then try to cross the border into Lithuania illegally to seek asylum in the EU. Lukashenko’s actions come as his regime is facing increased sanction pressure from the EU following his move to force down a Ryanair flight in May to detain a dissident journalist, Roman Protasevich, and his companion, Sofia Sapega.
Landsbergis said that over 4,000 migrants had already entered Lithuania illegally from Belarus this year, compared with around 80 the previous year.
