Lithuania declared a state of emergency on Friday after 150 illegal migrants crossed into the country from neighboring Belarus.
The Lithuanian government has accused Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko of trying to destabilize the country in retaliation for its support of EU sanctions and for the Belarusian opposition movement, which has been protesting since a fraudulent presidential election last August.
“Lukashenko seeks to weaponize migration to weaken our resolve for sanctions,†Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, posted on Twitter. “Emergency or not — it shall not pass!â€
Some of the migrants were reported to be Syrian citizens who entered Belarus legally because of family connections or dual nationality. But many such migrants would prefer to live in the EU, particularly with Belarus facing a barrage of economic sanctions by the EU, Canada, U.K. and U.S. over the continuing political crisis.
Since the protests began in August, Lithuanian has given support to the opposition movement and has sheltered its leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
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