Belarus parliament votes to suspend readmission of migrants

Lawmakers in Belarus have voted to suspend an agreement with the European Union obliging the ex-Soviet nation to take back migrants that crossed its territory into the EU

KYIV, Ukraine -- Lawmakers in Belarus have voted to suspend an agreement with the European Union obliging the ex-Soviet nation to take back migrants that crossed its territory into the EU.

The vote late Monday in the upper house of the Belarusian parliament formalizes the move that was announced by Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko in June.

Lukashenko and his officials have described the measure as part of Belarus' response to the EU sanctions, arguing that the nation can't afford the costs involved in stemming the flow of migrants heading to Europe and would instead use the funds to offset the impact of EU sanctions.

Belarus' EU neighbors Poland and Lithuania have been struggling to cope with an unusually high number of migrants, most from Iraq and Afghanistan, arriving at their borders with Belarus in recent months. They have accused Lukashenko of encouraging the flow of migrants and using them as a weapon in what they described as a “hybrid war” against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for its sanctions on Belarus.