Gabriel Landsbergis: Without slowing the pace of migration, sanctions are needed for all participants in the process



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“It appears that friendly diplomatic efforts by both the EU and Lithuania with Iraq and Turkey are not working. The EU institutions should offer a sanctions package to all those involved in the smuggling route,” the chief said on Monday. from Lithuanian diplomacy to BNS.

He said this as Iraqi airlines prepare to fly to Minsk from three other Iraqi cities: Basra, Arbil and Suleimania. This is advertised on the Minsk Airport and Iraq Airways websites.

The minister stressed that Lithuania itself “needs full border protection.”

“It may be the only solution to deter human trafficking,” Landsberg said.

For her part, European Commissioner Ilva Johansson, who visited Lithuania, acknowledged that “more needs to be done” to tackle this crisis.

However, he emphasized that in discussions about reducing flights and returning migrants to their countries of origin, Iraq and other countries were “behaving more constructively than I expected.”

“It just came to our attention then.” … The EU has a lot of power in dealing with third countries, “he explained.

The Community said last week that it was pressuring Iraq to cut off the flows of migrants trying to reach Lithuania through Belarus.

Speaking about the possible influence of the European Union in the negotiations with Iraq, Ms Johansson said that she had previously proposed new measures regarding the issuance of visas to third-country nationals if specific countries did not comply with international obligations when addressing the migration problems.

This year, nearly 4,000 people crossed the border from Belarus into Lithuania. illegal migrants.

Lithuania has declared an emergency situation due to the increase in illegal immigration. The country’s officials take the position that the increase in migratory flows is an organized action of the Minsk regime against Lithuania.

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