In Belarus there are about 7,000 migrants waiting to cross into the EU, of whom 2,000 want to send to Germany and return the rest to their countries of origin.
The President of Belarus, Alexandr Lukashenko He accused the European Union (EU) of passivity today in the face of the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border and insisted that Germany must take in the nearly 2,000 migrants who have been stranded there for more than two weeks.
“I am waiting for the EU to answer about the 2,000 refugees,” the president said in a meeting with his strongmen in the Grodno border region, according to the official BELTA agency.
Lukashenko denounces broken promise
He added that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom he has spoken by phone twice since the start of the migration crisis, “promised that this problem would be addressed in the EU.”
“She doesn’t even study it. Even what she (Merkel) promised me: contact people, they don’t get in touch,” said the Belarusian president, revealing that when his Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei calls those people They answer that they are on a “trip”.
“If Germany does not take them (the migrants), we will take care of these people ourselves. What can we do? We cannot do anything. But we must demand that the Germans take them in,” Lukashenko insisted.
Poland to build a wall on the border with Belarus in December
However, the German government today rejected the Belarusian president’s demand outright, as it is not an acceptable solution for Germany or the EU, according to its spokesman Steffen Seibert.
“We have been very clear in recent days about what we are going to do with regard to the aid or possible contribution of the EU to solve this artificially created crisis,” said the EU Foreign spokesman Peter Stano on the efforts to facilitate the repatriation of trapped migrants.
He affirmed that there were contacts “with different Belarusian interlocutors”, “at different levels”, the last ones last Friday.
In Belarus there are about 7,000 migrants waiting to cross into the EU, of which 2,000 want to send to Germany and return the rest to their countries of origin, according to Minsk.
Lukashenko announced today that a second repatriation flight is being prepared for the end of this month, after the one organized by the Iraqi government last week for more than 400 Iraqis.
Warning to Warsaw
Lukashenko took the opportunity to issue a warning to Poland, whose authorities have threatened to cut rail traffic with Belarus.
“We constantly hear threats from these savage politicians and the rulers of Poland that they are going to close the border (…), the railway crossing. The only thing I can say about it is: please. If it is comfortable for you, close it, but first you have to think about what they will say to Russia, China and the East in general, ”he said.
Normality seemed absolute today in freight traffic between the two countries, as well as the railway, as Efe was able to verify on the Polish side.
At the same time, the Belarusian president stressed that Minsk is not seeking a confrontation with Poland and that “it has not purposely sent anyone across the border.”
In the last 24 hours, 346 new attempts to illegally cross the Polish border from Belarus were registeredthe Polish Border Guard reported today.
The head of state explained that Belarus fully understands that if the situation “goes wrong, war will be inevitable, which would be a catastrophe.”
“We do not want any conflict, but we will defend these poor people (the migrants) as much as possible,” he stressed.
The Belarusian president spoke out against eventual visits by European representatives and international organizations due to their scant help in solving the migration crisis.
“They have nothing to do here, because the same thing will happen as with these international visitors. They will come as a posture,” Lukashenko said, referring to the UN and WHO representatives who visited the migrants who are in a center in recent days. Belarusian logistics company on the border with Poland.
This Monday, the WHO director for the European Region, Hans Kluge, promised additional medical assistance on a visit to the migrants.
“We will discuss with the regional authorities additional aid measures. In the first instance, drugs against chronic diseases and for the prophylaxis of coronavirus,” Kluge said, according to BELTA.
WHO yesterday donated 120 boxes with a total of 600 packages containing sanitary articles (paper towels, toilet paper, masks, toothpastes and antiseptic hand gel), the Belarusian Red Cross said today.
“Do not come to us here to talk about medications. We have enough medicines. You have billions of dollars. Pay these migrants a minimum subsidy so that they can afford medical assistance, ”Lukashenko stressed, addressing foreign visitors. (I)
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