VILNIUS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys confirmed on Wednesday that the number of irregular migrants entering the country rose significantly during the January-June period this year.

While ruling out issues with Lithuania's own border security, Budrys attributed the increase to so-called secondary migration, when migrants who initially enter Belarus reach Lithuania and Poland via Latvia, according to reports by the Baltic News Service (BNS).

Data released Tuesday by the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS) showed that a total of 352 irregular migrants who entered Latvia from Belarus and attempted to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland were detained in the first half of 2025. This marks a two-and-a-half-fold increase compared to the same period in 2024, when 140 such migrants were apprehended.

In a related move, Poland announced Tuesday that it would extend temporary checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania from July 7 to stop irregular migrants crossing.

In response to Poland's announcement, Budrys called for avoiding politicizing border protection measures. He emphasized that decisions on border controls are not solely national matters but also fall under the framework of the Schengen agreements.

He stressed that all border-control procedures should adhere to the Schengen rules, and decisions should be based on factual data and needs. "They must be proportionate, precisely targeted, and not politically motivated."

Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Interior Ministry said that eight Lithuanian border guards have been deployed to Latvia to help their counterparts secure Latvia's border with Belarus. Enditem