Lithuania expects Iraqi refugees to arrive next year: official

Lithuania intends to home in 70 Iraqi refugees from Turkey, the Baltic country's government official said on Monday.

"We decided today to accept 70 people, which will be relocated from the third countries according to European Council decision; it was decided to relocate them from Turkey," Elvinas Jankevicius, deputy minister of interior, told reporters after a government meeting, ELTA news agency reported.

He specified the new-comers would be Iraqis, they should arrive in Lithuania as early as in the beginning of 2016.

Lithuania has its embassy in Turkey, which would help to select refugees to home in, officials expect.

The Baltic country is inclined to give priority to the most vulnerable persons, such as families with children, as people from this group are more willing to integrate, Jankevicius said.

"Our society is concerned, and we want that these would be stories of successful integration," he added.

Lithuania earlier was expecting the first refugees, preferably Syrians, to arrive this year from Italy or Greece, however, the two Southern European countries have not yet made the lists of persons to be relocated.

The criteria set by the Lithuanian government based on which refugees will be relocated to Lithuania should remain confidential, Rimantas Vaitkus, Lithuania's government vice-chancellor, noted.

"This information is to remain confidential; it is a document of restricted accessibility," Vaitkus underlined.

Based on the EU decisions, Lithuania committed to resettling 1,105 refugees from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Eritrea, within two years. Endit