3 yıl önce

EU toughens visa process for Belarus officials as migrant crisis worsens

The EU has accused Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko of luring migrants from the Middle East to his country only to send them across the border, in retaliation for European sanctions. Minsk denies the claim.

AP

Polish riot police has reinforced Poland's eastern border a day after hundreds of migrants tried to storm across the razor-wire border fence from Belarus.

The European Union governments have partially suspended a visa facilitation deal for Belarusian officials.

Tuesday's move was in response to a "hybrid attack" that Brussels says Minsk is waging by pushing migrants across its borders with Poland and Lithuania.

The EU accuses Belarus of encouraging migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa to cross the border into the bloc in revenge for sanctions slapped on Minsk over human rights abuses.

"This decision is a response to the ongoing hybrid attack launched by the Belarusian regime," said the statement from the EU Council, which represents the bloc's member states.

It said the move would affect Belarusian officials, and not complicate existing visa procedures for ordinary citizens.

Belarus must stop putting people’s lives at risk.

I spoke to @MorawieckiM @IngridaSimonyte @krisjaniskarins

I call for approval of extended sanctions, possible sanctions on third country airlines involved.

We also want to prevent a humanitarian crisis and ensure safe returns
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 8, 2021

Lukashenko remains defiant

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said he did not want an armed confrontation but "will not kneel" in a stand-off over migrants on the border with Poland.

"We are not seeking a fight," he said on Tuesday, warning that any conflict would draw in Belarus's ally Russia.

"I am not a madman, I understand perfectly well where it can lead ... We understand, we know our place. But we will not kneel," Lukashenko said in an interview.

The 27-member union has imposed sanctions against 166 individuals and 15 entities from Belarus over human rights violations related to a crackdown on protests against the August 2020 rigged elections.

Thousands of migrants were camped out near the Belarusian border with Poland in freezing overnight temperatures, as Polish authorities braced on Tuesday for further clashes with people attempting to breach the frontier.

Some used logs, spades and other tools on Monday to try to break down a border fence, escalating the months-long crisis.