Lithuania has filed a lawsuit against Belarus with the UN International Court of Justice

The Lithuanian authorities have filed a lawsuit with the UN International Court of Justice against Belarus because of the "migration crisis". This was reported in the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

"The Lithuanian government today filed a lawsuit against Belarus in the UN International Court of Justice... for organizing a large-scale importation of migrants into Lithuania. The case is connected with violations of the obligations of states in accordance with the UN Protocol on the Illegal Importation of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air," the report says.

The Lithuanian side states that the republic has been "facing an unprecedented increase in the flow of illegal migrants from Belarus since 2021." According to Vilnius, the Belarusian authorities allegedly specially organized the influx of migrants and accompanied them to the Lithuanian border. At the same time, the statement says that Lithuania also demands "full compensation for damage, including the cost of building a border fence, and guarantees that actions contrary to international law will not happen again."

The migration crisis on the border of Belarus and the EU countries began in 2021. Minsk has officially warned its neighbors that due to the sanctions imposed by them and the rupture of political relations, it will no longer restrain the flow of migrants heading to the West at its own expense. In response, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia refused to accept refugees, built a fence on the border with Belarus and flooded the border areas with the military.