Lithuania’s parliament has voted to build a fence on the Belarus border to stop Iraqis, Afghans and other non-EU migrants entering.
This year, more than 4,000 migrants illegally entered EU member Lithuania from Belarus, a recent record.
Belarus is accused by Lithuanian officials of flying in migrants who then continue across the border, a claim Belarus denies.
Lithuania’s help for Belarusian opposition activists has angered Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
In June of this year, relations deteriorated further when Belarus forced a Ryanair flight headed for Lithuania to divert to Minsk, where a Belarusian opposition journalist and his fiancée were arrested. A month later, the EU increased the sanctions.
Since then, a surge of non-EU migrants has crossed the border from Belarus into Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, putting pressure on the EU to act.
Latvia has declared a state of emergency on its border with Belarus, where it plans to beef up patrols. The measure authorises border guards to return illegal migrants by force.
Mr Lukashenko, on the other hand, stated on Monday that Belarus will not accept migrants returned from its Baltic neighbours. His disputed re-election a year ago triggered mass protests, which his security forces violently crushed.
Lithuania aims to build a 4m (13ft) metal fence topped with razor wire on the border with Belarus. It is expected to cost about €152m (£128m; $178m).
“Without this physical barrier, it is impossible to protect our borders, it is very clear,” Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told Reuters news agency.
However, an EU spokesman said on Tuesday that the bloc “does not support fences or barriers.” Until now, the EU has offered help in the shape of border guards and supplies.
The Lithuanian government has also announced a plan to offer migrants who agree to return to their country of origin €300 each, national broadcaster LRT reported.
Last week, a harsher and more controversial policy of forcing migrants back across the border began.
According to the Lithuanian Border Guard, which has been keeping migrants at multiple temporary prisons, many are from Iraq.
President Lukashenko addressed the stressful situation on the border at an eight-hour TV news conference in Belarus on Monday.
In power since 1994, Mr Lukashenko accused Lithuania of deliberately provoking his government into a reaction at the border.
“If they don’t calm down at the borders, they will get an all-out sock on the jaw,” Mr Lukashenko said.
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