Diplomatic initiatives are multiplying, especially towards Moscow, to avoid climbing at the border with Poland.
by and
A strong concern reigned in Brussels, Thursday, November 11, in the face of the deterioration of the border situation with Belarus, where at least 2,000 migrants were trapped by the dictatorial regime of Minsk. They live there in dramatic conditions, hoping to reach the territory of the European Union (EU) by Poland, but also by Lithuania and Latvia.
In retaliation to the European sanctions established against the repression carried out in the country, Minsk orchestra these arrivals on his soil of Syrians, Iraqis, Palestinians, from Lebanese. What is described as “a hybrid attack” against the Union, with migration as a weapon, could now lead to a military escalation, fear some leaders. “The risk is very high,” said Wednesday 10 November, the Estonian Minister of Defense, Kalle Laanet. His country mentioned, with France and Ireland, the subject to the UN on Thursday evening at a closed door meeting of the Security Council. At its end, the European and American members of the Council condemned a “instrumentalization orchestras of human” by Belarus in a joint statement to “destabilize the external border of the European Union”.
In the immediate future, the EU prepares a new penalties train, the fifth, against Belarus. It should be endorsed Monday, November 15 by the Foreign Ministers. Then the ministers of the defense will also discuss this file, which “is not a war but a serious crisis, an attempt to militarize the question of migration,” Wednesday explained before the Europutés, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
An instrumentalization “inhuman”
“They continue to threaten us (…). And if we cut the natural gas?” Replied, Thursday, President Belarusse, Alexandre Loukachenko, in remarks reported by the official Belta agency. Some 35% of the Russian gas consumed in Europe goes through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which serves Poland, Germany and other countries. The threat was, however, not taken seriously by Brussels, where we invoked international obligations difficult to circumvent. Later, the Belarusian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Makei, apparently tried to calm the game by saying that his country was “favorable to a crisis resolution as soon as possible”.
You have 72.29% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.