The 27 believe that Belarus orchestrated these migratory tensions in response to a previous wave of sanctions decided after the repression of the opposition in this country.
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A stroke of bluff or a real change of line? While the European Union wants to toughen sanctions against Belarus, Minsk says Monday, November 15, to work to bring in “at their home” migrants who camp on the border with Poland in increasingly precarious conditions.
>> Follow the migration crisis on the border between Poland and Belarus live
The heads of diplomacy of the countries of the European Union are meeting Monday in Brussels to adopt punitive measures against Minsk. The 27 believe that Belarus orchestrated these migratory tensions in response to a previous wave of sanctions decided after the repression of the opposition in this country.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko assured Monday that he did not want a conflict on his border, and stressed that he wanted to bring back to their country the thousands of migrants, especially from Iraq, who are currently camping on the border with Poland. “We are ready, as we always have, to put them all on planes that bring them home”, he said, according to state agency Belta, “active work is underway to convince these people, ‘please come home’ but nobody wants to come back “.
At the same time, Belarusian airline Belavia announced on Sunday that Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and Yemenis were now banned from flying from Dubai to Belarus, on “decision of the competent authorities of the United Arab Emirates”.
Following pressure from European diplomats, Turkey also banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from visiting Belarus. The private Syrian company Cham Wings Airlines has also stopped its flights to Minsk. For its part, the Iraqi government announced the organization on Thursday of a first repatriation flight for Iraqi migrants stranded on the border between Belarus and Poland. “on a voluntary basis”.