Iraqi Airways said on Thursday evening that it was suspending flights to Minsk for a week.
The airline said in a statement on its Facebook page that it was suspending flights to the Belarusian capital for one week starting on August 5.
On Wednesday, Martin Huth, the EU ambassador to Iraq, told BNS that Iraqi Airways flights to Minsk would likely be cancelled for ten days.
The European Union has been involved in negotiations with Baghdad in a bid to convince Iraq to help to return Iraqi citizens to their country of origin who have crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally. Brussels has also pushed for Baghdad to cut the number of flights to Minsk to stem the migration flow.
According to the websites of Minsk Airport and Iraqi Airways, the airline had plans to start operating flights to Minsk not only from Baghdad, but also from Basra, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in the near future.
Over 4,000 irregular migrants – mostly Iraqi citizens – have crossed into Lithuania from Belarus irregularly so far this year.
Lithuania has declared a state-level extreme situation over the migration influx which it says is being orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.
Flight arrives from Baghdad
On Friday, an Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad still landed in Belaurs, according to data from the Minsk airport.
A flight from Erbil to Minsk on Saturday is also included in the list of flights published by the airline on Facebook.
Previously, Iraqi Airways removed flights to Minsk from Basra, while a Friday flight to Minsk from Iraqi was also cancelled by FlyBaghdad airlines.
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