Barbed wire on Lithuanian-Belarusian border to help fight illegal immigration - Lithuanian interior minister
VILNIUS. Aug 10 (Interfax/BNS) - Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite has said she hopes that the fortifications on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border will be ready within a year.
"There will be no efficient protection of our border without a physical barrier. When the bill is adopted, it will be possible to build this, a physical barrier, within a very short time, two times faster. Hopefully, this will be done within a year," Bilotaite said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The government submitted a bill on building a barrier to the Seimas (parliament) on Tuesday and asked that it be considered as a priority.
The bill will expedite the construction of the border fence by simplifying procurements, Bilotaite said, adding that they will guarantee "the utmost transparency, publicity, and openness of all data."
The fortifications on the border with Belarus will consist of concertina barbed wire and a wire mesh fence.
The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service estimates the project will cost 152 million euros.
Over 4,100 immigrants, mostly from Iraq, have crossed into Lithuania from Belarus this year. The Lithuanian authorities have blamed the increased scale of illegal immigration on "hybrid aggression of the Belarusian regime."
Estonia and Ukraine have said they are ready to help Lithuania install the barbed wire.