Belarus threatens the EU with a gas boycott if the border closes

by time news

New breakthrough attempts by migrants on the Polish EU external border. Cold and illness in makeshift camps.

The battle of strength between the EU and Belarus is about to reach a new high point. After Brussels announced an expansion of the sanctions against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko because of the migration crisis provoked by Minsk on the Polish border, the latter threatened with new countermeasures. He announced on Thursday that he could restrict gas supplies from Russia to the EU via the Yamal-Europe transnational gas pipeline. “We are providing Europe with warmth, but they are threatening to close the border. And what if we park the natural gas there? So I would recommend the Polish leadership, Lithuanians and other mindless people to think before they speak, ”Lukashenko said, according to the Belta news agency.

Meanwhile, the situation on the border between Poland and Belarus is worsening. Many hundreds of people spent another night in makeshift camps on Belarusian territory. Diseases are said to have broken out among the migrants who were accompanied to the border by Belarusian security forces. About 150 of them tried again to violently break through the border, said Poland’s deputy interior minister, Bartosz Grodecki. In the vicinity of the now closed Kuźnica border crossing, it remained quiet last night. Much of the information from the border area cannot be verified, however, as independent journalists are denied access.

According to their own statements, Poland’s security forces have already picked up numerous people who crossed the border irregularly, as well as several people smugglers. The majority of the arrested smugglers come from Germany, according to an EU report from which the daily newspaper “Die Welt” quoted. But people from Belarus are also involved. According to the EU document, the Belarusian airline Belavia, in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, transports migrants from Istanbul to Minsk on four to seven flights a week. There would be space for 180 passengers at a time. The number of Iraqi and Syrian citizens flying to Minsk via Dubai is also increasing. The EU is currently preparing measures to restrict such flights to Minsk.

Tensions between Brussels and Moscow

The conflict over the flow of migrants directed by Lukashenko to the EU is now also causing tensions between Brussels and Moscow. The Kremlin, which supports the regime in Minsk, stressed that Russia had nothing to do with the migrants on the border with Poland and Lithuania. At the same time, Moscow is showing a military presence in Belarusian airspace with two fighter planes. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow spoke of a test of the joint air defense of the two countries. (ag./wb)

[RYJTH]

(“Die Presse”, print edition, November 12th, 2021)

You may also like

Leave a Comment