Lithuanian Foreign Minister: We Must Destroy Lukashenka’s Smuggling Network

• 26.07.2021, 13:27

Vilnius called for tougher sanctions against Minsk.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called on the European Union to toughen sanctions against Minsk in the event of an aggravation of the problem of the influx of illegal migrants from neighboring Belarus to the territory of the Baltic republic. He stated this in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt.

“If the situation with migration in Lithuania continues to deteriorate, then new and tougher European sanctions against Belarus are needed,” Landsbergis said. He said that he had previously suggested to his EU colleagues to do this. “This is not a migration crisis but a hybrid war against us,” the Foreign Minister added.

“We must unite our efforts in Europe to destroy Lukashenka’s smuggling network,” Landsbergis continued.

“In the countries of origin [of migrants], there are Belarusian firms that organize transportation,” the minister said. According to Landsbergis, people are offered to enter the EU illegally for € 7,000-8,000.