Lithuania asks EU for border security from migrants arriving from Belarus

By Selen Temizer

BRUSSELS (AA) – Lithuania’s foreign minister on Monday asked the EU for border protection assistance from a possible flow of migrants from neighboring Belarus.

Speaking at an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Gabrielius Landsbergis said: "The most important issue for my country is the unprecedented migrant flow from Belarus."

Accusing the Russian-backed Belarusian government of using refugees as "weapons," Landsbergis called on the EU to adopt a common strategy in the face of such hybrid political threats and in accepting asylum seekers.

Landsbergis urged the EU to accept a fifth package of sanctions against the Belarusian regime and to support it in protecting its border against Belarus.

Telling how over 2,000 refugee visas in recent years have been issued for those mostly arriving from Russia and Belarus, Landsbergis said, "We decided to get 11 translators from Afghanistan."