Iraq to issue passport for citizens stuck in Belarus: spokesperson

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s foreign ministry on Saturday announced the issuance of passports for Iraqis stuck in Belarus after concern has been raised over the migration of citizens to the country.

The Iraqi embassy in Russia “announces the presence of its consular delegation in Belarusian capital Minsk to proceed with the issuance of passports to citizens stuck in Belarus, and to facilitate their return to Iraq,” spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad al-Sahaf said in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

Some 4,000 migrants, more than half of them from Iraq and many of them Kurdish, are detained in Lithuania after entering the country from Belarus. The Lithuanian government has accused Belarus of “weaponizing” migrants in a bid to force the European Union to ease sanctions.

The European Union (EU) placed sanctions on Belarus in June over “enduring repression” and the forced landing of a Ryanair flight carrying a prominent Belarussian human rights defender, then in exile in Poland.

Speaking to Rudaw on Thursday, Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantas Adomenas said their neighbour is pushing migrants into Lithuania in order to pressure the EU into dropping the sanctions.

Lithuania has turned away migrants who have entered its borders to Belarus, after which the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko ordered its security to tighten control on the border to stop them from entering the country, reported AP.

Iraqi Airways announced on Thursday evening that it is suspending flights to Belarus for one week.

The EU diplomatic service summoned Belarus's representative in Brussels to demand an end to the "instrumentalisation" of migrants crossing into Lithuania, a spokeswoman said on Thursday, AFP reported.

Lithuania's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs told would-be Iraqi asylum seekers not to travel to Belarus in an interview with Rudaw, saying this route will not give them access to western Europe.

Kurds stuck in camps in Lithuania have told Rudaw that conditions are poor – they are cold, their tents are flooded, and some have resorted to drinking toilet water.

Iraq to issue passport for citizens stuck in Belarus: spokesperson

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