Telephone communication of K. Mitsotakis with the Prime Minister of Lithuania

The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida onimonytė. The main topic of conversation was Immigration, in the light of recent developments on the borders of Lithuania and Poland with Belarus.

The Prime Minister expressed our country’s full support for the challenges facing Lithuania, while reiterating that the instrumentalization of immigrants to achieve political goals is unacceptable, violates international law and the human rights of desperate people who are being exploited by third countries.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined that Greece was the first to face the effort to instrumentalize the Immigration Service in March 2020, defending its borders, which are also European borders. It thus set the framework for the defense of the Union’s external borders and the interests of the EU and the Member States, proving every day that there is an effective response, always with respect for international law and the European acquis.

He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer.

It was also common to see that Europe needed solidarity with the front-line Member States, and that Europe needed to look at financing natural barriers at the border. The two leaders agreed to continue the close cooperation of the two countries to deal with the phenomenon, by coordinating actions within the EU, but also by exchanging experiences and know-how.