Hundreds of Iraqi citizens are stuck in Lithuania and Belarus and are unable to go to Western Europe to seek asylum, in an unprecedented attempt to migrate to Europe.

As a result of this migration wave, the European Union (EU) pressured the Iraqi government to halt the travel of its citizens to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, for study and tourism. But Baghdad, which said that it “does not prevent its citizens from traveling,” stated that its citizens “were deceived.”

On Aug. 14, the Iraqi government alluded to the use of Iraqis in an international political conflict. The charge d'affaires to Warsaw, Minister Hussein Mansour al-Safi, said during an official video conference chaired by President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda, “Iraq refuses its citizens being used in international conflicts they have nothing to do with.”

Safi's words seem to insinuate differences between Belarus and the EU over recognizing the legitimacy of the Belarusian president. Iraqis are being used as a pressure card in the hands of the Belarusian government on the EU, which did not recognize the legitimacy of Belarusian President Alexandre Lukashenko, who is seeking recognition of his presidency.