Foreign Ministry urges Lithuania to respect human rights due to actions against migrants

The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on Smolenskaya Square in MoscowMOSCOW, February 4 Moscow calls on Vilnius to comply with international standards in human rights sphere in relation to those who find themselves in the most difficult humanitarian situation, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on Lithuania's practice of expelling migrants from the country. «We call on Vilnius to strictly comply with all international standards in the human rights sphere in relation to those who are not voluntarily ended up in the most difficult humanitarian situation,» the message says.EU overestimates data on migrants detained at the border, Minsk says According to Brussels, the Lithuanian practice of squeezing out refugees «runs counter to the EU legal system», and such actions against migrants themselves are «illegal». The Russian Foreign Ministry added that, at the same time, evidence of a «blatant disregard» for fundamental human rights is also presented in a recent report by the Lithuanian parliamentary ombudsman, Eric Leonite. Among other things, it is noted that psychological pressure is exerted on illegal immigrants in order to force them to return to their homeland. «Once again, we are witnessing how in a country that calls itself the «standard of democracy» and tries to teach «democratic standards» to others, even the most basic human rights,» the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.In Lithuania, supported the idea of ​​a permanent presence of the military from the United StatesEarlier visiting Lithuania, the Commissioner for Internal Affairs of the European Commission, Ylva Johansson, criticized Lithuania's practice of expelling migrants, calling it illegal. Head of the Office of the Ombudsman of the Seimas, Erika Leonite, after visiting the Kybartai Aliens Registration Center, said in a report that the conditions of detention of migrants in Lithuania amount to inhuman or degrading treatment. Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have recently reported an increase in the number of detained illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa on the border with Belarus, Minsk was accused of creating a migration crisis. Minsk stated that they were not the organizers of the migration crisis. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko also noted that Minsk would no longer hold back the flow of illegal migrants to the EU countries: due to Western sanctions, there is «neither money nor strength» for this. The border guards of Belarus have repeatedly announced the forcible expulsion of migrants by Lithuania, Poland and Latvia to Belarusian territory.