Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says he's been assured by his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein that an Iraqi Airways flight that landed in Minsk on Friday was empty and will be used to bring Iraqi nationals back to their home country.
"In the minister's words, it's an empty plane sent to collect people who have asked to come back. Several sources have confirmed that information," the minister told BNS on Friday.
The Iraqi Airways plane landed in Minsk before noon.
Based on unverified information, some 300 Iraqis have expressed their wish to go back, Landsbergis said.
Iraqi Airways announced on Thursday it was suspending flights to Minsk for a week. Landsbergis says he's been assured that flights will be suspended for ten days. The minister also said he has asked Hussein for flights from Iraq to Minsk to be fully stopped.
"We agreed with the minister that we [...] will record people who want to go back. We have already asked for documents of some of the people from Iraq," the minister said.
Lithuania wants flights from Iraq to Minsk to be suspended as part of people who arrive on these planes later attempt to cross its border with Belarus.
Read more: Baghdad to Lithuania: how Belarus opened new migration route to EU – LRT Investigation
Over 4,000 irregular migrants – mostly Iraqi citizens – have entered Lithuania from Belarus so far this year.
Lithuania has a state-level extreme situation declared over the migration influx which it says is being orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.
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