– Active work is underway in this area to convince people that they must please return home. But no one wants to go back, Lukashenko said in a statement issued Monday by Belta News Agency.
He also says that Belarus will be able to transport migrants to Germany with the country’s state-owned airline Belavia if Poland does not make sure to open a humanitarian corridor.
– We will send them to Munich with our own planes, if necessary, says Lukashenko and adds that Belarus does not want the migrant crisis to escalate into a conflict.
– It will be completely devastating for us, he says.
Humanitarian crisis
This is the first time Lukashenko has signaled its willingness to help migrants leave the border.
He has so far insisted that Poland and the EU are responsible for opening the borders so that refugees can seek asylum.
The statement comes after the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus has become increasingly tense, and while the humanitarian situation for thousands of migrants and refugees in the border area is becoming increasingly precarious.
Many are from war-torn countries in the Middle East and Asia, such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. However, Poland has closed the border and sent thousands of troops to prevent people from taking over. Those who have nevertheless managed to cross the border risk being sent back to Belarus immediately.
Poland has also closed the area to humanitarian organizations and journalists, which the authorities justify with the security situation.
New EU sanctions
In recent weeks, Belarus has been accused by the EU of exploiting migrants and refugees to harm the EU as punishment for sanctions imposed by the EU on Belarus’s regime earlier this year.
The message from Lukashenko comes at a time when the EU is expected to adopt new sanctions against Belarus on Monday, including against the country’s state-owned airline Belavia.
The sanctions against Belavia are being introduced because the airline is said to have transported refugees and migrants from the Middle East to Minsk. From there, they are transported on to the borders with the EU countries Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
The sanctions package will be the fifth EU to introduce since the controversial election in Belarus in August 2020.
Measures against aircraft
The EU has been working intensively for several days to prevent people from a number of countries in the Middle East from boarding flights to Belarus’ capital Minsk.
Among those who are now helping to prevent potential asylum seekers from traveling to Minsk is Turkey.
Iraq has also decided to charter flights and bring home citizens who want to return home. The first flight from Minsk will take place on Thursday this week, a spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
It is not known how many passengers will be involved, but Iraq is said to have already registered over 570 citizens for voluntary return.
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