VILNIUS, August 6. /TASS/. The Lithuanian Interior Ministry’s State Border Guard Service turned away about 700 illegal migrants in the past week, forcing them back into Belarus, Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told reporters on Friday.

"The decision on a border barrier has produced tangible results, we were able to stop about 700 illegal migrants from entering Lithuania," she pointed out.

Lithuanian border guards started to take tough measures to stop the influx of migrants on Tuesday, after the country’s Interior Ministry had provided them with the relevant powers. According to head of the Border Guard Service General Rustamas Liubajevas, personnel were instructed on how to react to illegal migrants’ actions. However, he did not specify the measures that border guards could take. The Lithuanian Interior Minister’s Adviser Laurinaityte-Grigiene said on Friday that border guards weren’t using force.

Over 4,000 illegal migrants have been detained on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border since the beginning of the year, 50 times more than in 2020. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in late May that the country had served as a barrier preventing illegal migrants from entering neighboring countries but given the West’s political pressure on Minsk, Belarus would have to think if it was reasonable to continue like that.