“Progress on all fronts” made in Belarus migrant crisis / Article

The European Union is trying to put pressure on airlines to stop bringing migrants to Minsk who are being misled into Western Europe.

Moscow supports Minsk

A large number of migrants are still gathering at the Polish-Belarusian border, and certain groups continue to move along the border fence. Security is also maintained near the border by Polish border guards, the army and the police.

Polish Defense Minister Marshal Blaschak has said he is helping British engineers strengthen the fence on the Belarusian-Polish border, which is being torn apart by migrants in several places.

Meanwhile, in order to show support for Minsk, Russia on Friday sent paratroopers to the Grodno region of Belarus near the Polish-Lithuanian border.

The Belarusian Armed Forces explained that the joint air maneuvers would involve a Russian air landing battalion, and the exercise was intended to test the Allied’s rapid reaction force in connection with “increased military activity near the Belarusian border.”

Brussels is increasing the pressure

The European Union said this week that it was putting pressure on 13 countries to stop allowing their citizens to travel to Belarus in the hope of entering the European Union illegally. Margaritis Shins, Vice-President of the European Commission, is currently visiting several countries of origin and transit.

The purpose of these visits is to warn about the gambit of migration in Minsk and the risks to those who are lured into it. Shins arrived in Lebanon on Friday after his first visit to the United Arab Emirates. He emphasized that efforts to stem the flow of migrants gathering at Belarus’s border with the European Union were paying off.

“It simply came to our notice then. I was in Dubai yesterday, where I was pleasantly surprised by the authorities’ commitment to working with us to end this practice. I would also like to publicly welcome the decision of the Turkish Civil Aviation Agency to restrict travel to Minsk for citizens of certain countries. I have also received confirmation from Lebanon that it is also ready to work with us. “

Iraq is drawing up a list for repatriation

It became known on Friday that the Turkish national airline Turkish Airlines will no longer sell tickets for flights to Minsk to Syrian and Iraqi citizens.

Belavia, Belarus’ national airline, said it was no longer accepting Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni nationals on a return flight from Turkey to Belarus on Thursday, following an order from the Turkish authorities.

But Iraq has said it is drawing up a list of hundreds of Iraqis stuck on the Belarusian-Polish border who want to be repatriated voluntarily. As Shins said, there is a need to form an international coalition, which is also being done, against the use of people as political pawns.

“The overall situation is that we are seeing progress on all fronts. I am going to Baghdad on Monday and hopefully to Ankara later next week. I feel that this is a time when Europe is counting its friends in a way, and we are very pleased to see that we have many. ”

The vice-president of the commission reminded that sanctions against Belarus are being prepared, which will take effect next week, and are now working with the United States and others to make them effective.

CONTEXT:

In the summer of 2021 the number of migrants increased significantly, which is trying to enter the territory of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland illegally from Belarus. Most migrants are arrived from Iraq.

Officials from the Baltic states and Poland pointed out that the Belarusian authorities deliberately do not obstruct the crossing of the borderto punish these countries for supporting the Belarusian opposition and sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.

The European Union will do so described as the deployment of hybrid warfare and promises to help strengthen the EU’s external border.

On November 8, a large group of migrants gathered at the Belarusian border with Poland, trying to enter the territory of the European Union, but Poland refuses to allow these people because they believe that they are not refugees, but “tourists” who have come to Belarus voluntarily.

The Latvian government from August 11 declared a state of emergency on the border with Belarus, later on extended until 10 February. Latvia also plans to speed up Latvian-Belarusian border infrastructures construction.

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