300 euros can solve the fate of migrants. Military expert from Lithuania on the decision of the authorities to pay illegal immigrants for returning home

I think that the decision to pay 300 euros was correct. People who run away from their countries spend all their money reserves on this. For them, this amount can become decisive because they are in a hopeless situation. This is a good motivation for them.

The European Union and our allies in NATO helped Lithuania to agree with Iraq to cancel flights to Minsk. First, Iraqi airlines postponed flights for ten days, and now for an indefinite time. So collective protection works even at this level. This is important because the largest influx of migrants to Minsk was from Iraq.

Lithuania’s authorities now act decisively and do everything to build a fence that will help border guards to cope with this crisis provoked by migrant tributaries. It will be built before the New Year. At first they thought that it would take 2.5 years, but the situation is so acute that we need to throw all the resources and organize.

In addition, the country discusses the opportunity to contact the NATO allies in order to apply the fourth article < Article 4. Contracting parties will always consult with each other if, according to any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or safety of any of the contracting parties will be under threat. - The Insider >. True, the government thinks that it’s too early. My opinion is already time. Lukashenko openly threatened that some refugees could organize terrorist attacks on the territory of Lithuania. If the head of state releases such threats, then this is quite seriously.

Russia does not interfere openly in this matter. The Putin regime, of course, coordinates what they do, and maybe somehow helps. Plus, soon, in September, the Russian-Belarusian exercises "West 2021" will begin. In my opinion, under the guise of these teachings, Lukashenko can accumulate a large batch of migrants on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border and try to deliver it to us. And this mass influx will be difficult to stop at the border. And at some point, a critical mass of migrants can accumulate in Lithuania, which will provoke a serious crisis in the state.

This “hybrid war” against Lithuania is interesting in that the country that organizes it, in fact, earns on this because migrants pay Minsk money for transferring to Europe. And for us, as the parties, taking migrants, are only expenses and damage. But we cannot act like Belarus, because we have democracy and humane laws. We saw Lukashenko dealt with his own people, so we are not experiencing illusions about how he could brutally act with migrants. How far in this sense Lukashenko can go, no one knows.

He is already sending migrants throughout Europe. We know that they penetrate into Poland and Latvia. But for Lithuania, oddly enough it sounds, it is probably even better. Now countries that have a common misfortune will act faster and more organized.