Lithuanian interior minister suggests scrapping deals with Belarus

September 26, BPN. Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė has suggested terminating law enforcement agreements with Belarus.

These documents are outdated since geopolitical threats in the region persist, while Belarus as Russia’s ally continues to carry out hybrid aggression against Lithuania on the border, she said, as quoted by BNS.

Bilotaitė said the Belarusian regime continues to use migrants for political pressure. The Belarusians actively contribute to the migrant crisis and destruction of the border fence, she added.

Since Belarus violates international law and fails to comply with the bilateral agreements, they lose any meaning, and the ministry suggests that they should be terminated, she said.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated on November 8, 2021, when thousands of migrants set up a camp near the Polish border. The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble at the border, while the latter blamed it on the West.

Migration figures had dropped significantly by the time Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, but have risen more recently.