EU Countries Lack Tools To Combat Migration Flow From Belarus - Lithuania

The flow of migrants from Belarus to the European Union is not decreasing, despite measures already taken by member states, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters on Monday

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2021) The flow of migrants from Belarus to the European Union is not decreasing, despite measures already taken by member states, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters on Monday.

"What tools do countries like Lithuania, Latvia and Poland need to use, or can they use, in order to stop the weaponized migration that is being forced on the European Union? Because currently we are very much lacking the instruments and I think that we are dragging our feet a little in order to fight this new phenomenon of hybrid weaponized migration," Landsbergis said before the start of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

The minister said the situation only seemed to be under control, as "the flows are not diminishing," adding that "we are trying to find the ways to stop them.

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He blamed the crisis on the Belarusian government, which he said "is employing new flights from a number of countries in the middle East and North Africa in order to deceive people with the hopes of easy entry to the EU." His proposed solution to the problem is to stop Belarus-bound flights from those regions rather than trying to combat illegal migration on the territory of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

The three countries have reported a growing number of refugees arriving from Belarus in recent months, alleging that the illegal migration flow has been sustained by the Belarusian government to get back at the EU for sanctions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko rejected the allegation, but acknowledged that sanctions have deprived his country of the resources needed to curb EU-bound illegal migrants.