{"id":181755,"date":"2026-03-31T18:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181755\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:39:24","slug":"migration-pressure-mounts-on-lithuania-as-vilnius-refuses-talks-with-minsk","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181755\/","title":{"rendered":"Migration pressure mounts on Lithuania as Vilnius refuses talks with Minsk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 31, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>Migration pressure has been mounting at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border over the past month amid ongoing Washington\u2019s efforts to mediate talks between Minsk and Vilnius, according to Pozirk<\/em>\u2019s analysis of border guards\u2019 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, Lithuania reported at least 34 irregular crossing attempts, marking the first time since October 2025 that the number reached dozens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the start of this month, undocumented third-country foreigners have made 132 attempts to cross irregularly into Lithuania via Belarus, following 40 attempts reported in the first two months of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Lithuania has been the second most popular destination for irregular migrants attempting to enter the European Union via Belarus, after Latvia, which reported 246 attempts. In previous years, Poland was the primary target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of people desperate to cross into the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions that followed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland call the migration crisis a \u201chybrid attack\u201d orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland signed a joint declaration on February 26 on strengthening cooperation to beef up border security and respond to hybrid threats. The governments committed \u201cto resist the instrumentalization of migration and other hybrid threats at the external borders of the EU, including land, sea, and airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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