Baltic, Polish PMs condemn ‘hybrid attack’ by Belarus

On Monday, the Baltic and Polish prime ministers issued a joint statement condemning the “hybrid attack” by Belarus.

“It is clear to us that the ongoing [border] crisis has been planned and systemically organised by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko,” the joint statement, published by the Lithuanian government.

It was signed by the Prime Ministers Ingrida Šimonytė of Lithuania, Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš of Latvia, Kaja Kallas of Estonia and Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland.

“Using immigrants to destabilise neighbouring countries constitutes a clear breach of international law and qualifies as a hybrid attack against Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and thus against the entire European Union.”

The Baltic and Polish prime minister also stressed the importance of jointly using all available diplomatic and practical means to prevent new routes for irregular migration.

“In the EU we need to use this momentum to rethink our approach towards the protection of our borders,” the statement reads.

The four prime ministers also said the alleged abuse of migrants in Belarus should be discussed by the United Nations, saying it was unacceptable that people are being directed to cross the EU border.

Over 4,100 irregular migrants, mostly from Iraq, have crossed into Lithuania from Belarus so far this year, compared to 81 in all of 2020. Lithuania has a state-level extreme situation declared over the migration influx which it says is being orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.

In early August, Lithuania began pushing migrants back to Belarus. Iraq has also suspended flights to Minsk, leading to the reduction of people crossing the border into Lithuania.