Hussein: We discussed with Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs bilateral relations and migration of Iraqis

Baghdad-INA

 
Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein affirmed sunday, strengthening the bilateral relations with Lithuania, while Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis indicated that the Iraqi government was the first to stop flights to Belarus.


Hussein said in a press conference held with his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad and attended by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "our discussions with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister are frank and clear, and this is the fourth time we meet with him," noting, "We have talked about bilateral relations between the two countries, and they addressed the issue of Iraqi immigration this year and last year to Belarus and then to Lithuania and Poland."

He added, "This issue took on a great media resonance and great humanitarian reach, and in cooperation with various countries in the European Union and with Lithuania, we were able to work in this field and were able to return 4 thousand Iraqis who were trapped on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, and they were returned through 10 flights that departed from Baghdad."

"There are some Iraqis still in Lithuania and we are waiting for their decision to return voluntarily to Baghdad," he said.
 
Hussein thanked "Lithuania’s Foreign Minister for the great role in the European and EU framework to help Iraq in various fields and there was a great effort to remove Iraq from the list of high-risk countries on terrorist financing and money laundering," adding that the deletion of Iraq's name was a victory for Iraqi diplomacy in various countries and the European Union, especially in Brussels.
 
"We will continue our discussions with Lithuania’s foreign minister today, where he will have a meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and a visit to Erbil to meet with officials and regional leaders," he said.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said at the conference that some Iraqis make false promises to immigrate to Europe, adding that they "believe they may succeed when they reach the Lithuanian border."
 
"There will be some kind of cooperation between Iraq and Lithuania to stop immigration," he said, adding that "the EU considers Iraq an excellent model for dealing with confidence."
 
"I will discuss in Baghdad a lot of issues and cooperation between the two countries in the future," he said.