WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) Poland has decided to send humanitarian aid to Lithuania over the migration crisis on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, the Polish Foreign Ministry said.
"Over the several months-long crisis, caused by the influx of undocumented migrants from the Belarusian territory to Lithuania, the Polish Republic has decided to send humanitarian convoys [to Lithuania]. This is a solidarity move to support our neighbor and ally," the ministry said in a statement on late Wednesday.
The humanitarian convoy, which will cost some $190,000, will be financed via the funds of the Polish Government Strategic Reserves Agency and will include tents, power generators, towels and army cots.
The ministry stressed that the crisis had been created artificially.
"We condemn such an approach, which uses the difficult social, economic and sometimes political situation in the countries of the migrants' origin for promoting the current political agenda. We reaffirm our full solidarity with Lithuania and call on all the EU countries to support Vilnius and its efforts to protect the EU external border," the statement added.
On July 2, the Lithuanian government declared an emergency over the influx of illegal migrants from Belarus seeking to enter the EU. Vilnius has blamed Minsk for facilitating the transit of refugees to the bloc's member states through its territory and began to seek aid from Brussels to contain the crisis.
For his part, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country was unable to deal with the migration issue due to Western sanctions. However, he later agreed to cooperate on a paid basis.
