The migration crisis was mentioned as Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with local residents in the town of Tikhinichi, Rogachev District, Gomel Oblast on August 13.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “We spent money to protect Lithuanians, Poles, and other ones. They decided to establish sanctions. First of all they stopped building and financing centers for the temporary shelter of illegal migrants. Do I have to build them at my own expense? And then they established sanctions against Belarus. Have you gone mad? Why will I protect you after this? You want to hang me while I have to protect you? No. They are coming to you. You called them. Feel free to take them now. They failed. There are about 5,000 migrants in Lithuania today. They are kept… We don’t keep cattle in such conditions. They are not fed, there are pregnant women, some went there with kids. They are left right at the border line. We take them in, we cure them and save them. What else are we supposed to do?”
It is obvious that the President of Belarus is more concerned about the well-being of other people than about his own, even though the standard of living of Lithuanian citizens is three times higher than that of the Belarusians.