The migration crisis that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko provoked, can be considered a desperate attempt to weaken the European Union (EU). Commissioner of the European Commission (EC) on the internal issues of Ilva Johanson in conversation with the FINANCIAL TIMES newspaper was performed.
“Lukashenko is simply trying to use those who can hardly be called refugees,” said the European Commissioner. She called what was happening at the borders of Belarus and the EU responsibility of Lukashenko and an attempt to destabilize the countries of the association.
Johanson is convinced that this way the politician is trying to answer the sanctions of European countries.
On August 10, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia Maria Golubev called on the government of the country to introduce emergency regime in the Belarusian-Latvian border in connection with the influx of illegal migrants. The state border guard of Lithuania reported the capture of a record number of refugees – in early August, 289 illegal immigrants were detained. Most of them introduced themselves as citizens of Iraq.
Since the beginning of this year, over four thousand illegal migrants are detained at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, which is 50 times more than in the entire past year. At the end of May 2021, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, noted that the Republic served as a barrier on the way of transferring illegal migrants to the neighboring country, however, according to the political pressure of the West, Minsk can think about whether to continue to do this.
Estonian Prime Ministers, Latvia and Lithuania promised to introduce a new package of sanctions against Belarus in connection with what is happening on the border of the European Union.