EU holds migrant talks, accuses Belarus of 'hybrid warfare'

European Union ministers are holding emergency talks over allegations that Belarus is deliberately sending migrants to Lithuania as part of a “hybrid warfare” campaign

BRUSSELS -- European Union ministers are holding emergency talks on Wednesday in response to allegations that Belarus is deliberately sending migrants to Lithuania as part of a “hybrid warfare” campaign to destabilize the Baltic EU member country. The ministers are holding a videoconference in a so-called “integrated political crisis response” format. Such meetings are usually called to organize a response to natural disasters or terror attacks. Foreign policy, border, asylum and law enforcement officials are taking part. Movements of people across the border have spiked dramatically since the EU imposed sanctions on Belarus officials. The measures were imposed after President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a crackdown on opponents and protestors after claiming victory in a vote last year that the West denounced as rigged. His main election challenger fled to Lithuania. The aim of Wednesday’s meeting “is to determine concrete measures and forms of assistance to the affected states in managing and containing illegal crossings at the border with Belarus, also from the aspect of security at this section of the external EU border,” the Slovenian EU presidency said.