Lukashenko advises Poland and Lithuania not to be worked up about labor migrants in Belarus

Poland and Lithuania need to calm down and not to hype on the topic of migrant workers in Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said as he approved the appointment of Sergei Levkovich as First Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee, BelTA informs.

"We've got to stop all the talk about some labor resources. The resources [available in the country] must be encouraged to work. Sometimes there is lack of them. People are coming [to work in Belarus] not only from the southern regions of the former Soviet Union but also from Russia. We have some from Lithuania, Latvia, even from Poland. They come to us, willing to work. Local authorities should run checks on every family, every person on the spot. If they are meeting your requirements- then hire them. I've already talked about it. So that there is no fuss that we are hiring strangers. If you don't want outsiders, then work yourself. We do not insist that people come from other countries. But we need them in Vitebsk Oblast. Labor migration is normal," the President said.

"Poles are spurring on our fugitives there. They are the ones most scared of migrant workers from Pakistan. They are afraid that some of these migrant workers will go to Poland. So I advise Poles and Lithuanians to cool off. No Afghans, Turkmens, Uzbeks or Tajiks will leave us. Those who we admit will live and work with us. No need to get crazy and winding up our people so that they raise a fuss," Alexander Lukashenko added.