German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Belarus’ use of migrants to pressure the EU was inhumane and unacceptable and has asked him to press his counterpart in Minsk.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Belarus’ use of migrants to pressure the EU was inhumane and unacceptable and has asked him to press his counterpart in Minsk.
Speaking on Wednesday, Merkel’s spokesperson told the media that the outgoing German leader had held discussions with Putin about the Belarus border crisis.
According to the spokesperson, Merkel said that Minsk’s “instrumentalization of migrants” was inhumane and unacceptable and called on the Russian president to press Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko on the matter.
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The conflict between Poland and Belarus is worsening with the death of migrants, biting cold and war words between EU-Minsk.
Moscow has demanded that the European Union respect its humanitarian values and allow thousands of migrants to enter the bloc through Belarus. Moscow said Brussels was “strangling” Belarus with planned border closures.
EU nations accuse Minsk, accusing it of funneling thousands of migrants to its eastern borders under the guise of hybrid warfare. European leaders plan to approve new sanctions against Minsk.
“Mr Lukashenko …unscrupulously exploits people seeking refuge as hostages for his cynical power play,”Heiko Maas is Germany’s interim Foreign Minister said on Twitter, adding that the images from the border, where people are stuck in freezing conditions and with little food and shelter, were “It is horrible.”
Lukashenko has rejected accusations that Belarus is somehow “attacking” Poland, adding that he was not a “Madman” and did not seek conflict with Europe. “To conduct a war with these unfortunate people on the border of Poland with Belarus and move forward columns of tanks – it is clear that this is some kind of training or intimidation,”Lukashenko said, noting that Lithuanian and Polish soldiers were moving to the border.
Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday that Russia was orchestrating the mass migration.
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