As relations between Minsk and the EU deteriorate and Belarus’s
\npresident Aleksandr Lukashenko strengthens his aggressive rhetoric, the refugee
\ncrisis at the Union’s eastern border risks turning into a humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This is precisely why, at the request of France,
\nIreland and Estonia, the Security Council decided to convene to look for solutions
\nfor the thousands of people who are trying to get to Western Europe but are
\nkept in inhumane conditions at the border. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For several months now, Belarus has been encouraging
\nMiddle East migrants to cross its territory on their way to the EU via Poland
\nand the Baltic states, and the crisis has been deepening these past few days, when
\nthousands of refugees crowded at the border and tried to cross into Poland
\nillegally. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Poland has deployed troops on the border to push back
\nthe migrants, and informed its NATO allies of the crisis. The North-Atlantic
\nAlliance is monitoring the situation and promises to safeguard the security of
\nits members, including Lithuania and Latvia, who are also facing migrant
\npressure from Belarus. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In fact, this is not the first time that the three EU
\nmember states see migratory waves, mostly Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan nationals trying
\nto get illegally into Germany. The EU has repeatedly accused Belarus of pushing
\nthese migrants into European territory in retaliation to the sanctions
\ntriggered by Alexandr Lukashenko’s election fraud last year and by the brutal
\ncrackdown on the post-election protests. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
To add to the complications, Russia, a supporter of
\nthe Lukashenko regime, has deployed 2 nuclear-capable bombers to fly over
\nBelarus. Media agencies note that a growing number of EU voices blame the
\ncrisis on Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, but Kremlin dismissed the
\nallegations as unacceptable. President Putin, contacted on the phone by the
\nGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel in order to put an end to the crisis, suggested
\ndirect talks between the EU and Minsk, to discuss the issue. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The EU border is the scene of a brutal hybrid attack with
The migrant crisis on the Poland – Belarus border is worsening<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":90319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[35684,29612,29822,29120,34970,35725,29262,29720,29934,38167],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-90318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-belarus","tag-border","tag-crisis","tag-eu","tag-humanitarian","tag-lukashenko","tag-migrant","tag-poland","tag-putin","tag-refugee"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBelarus cynically and shockingly using the desperation of migrants as a weapon,
\nsaid the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. The situation on
\nthe border between Belarus and Poland is not a migrant crisis, but an attempt
\nby Minsk to destabilise its neighbours, the EC president Ursula von der Leyen
\nsaid in her turn, warning that the Union would extend its sanctions against
\nindividuals and entities in Belarus. (tr. A.M. Popescu<\/em>)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"