Tuesday, November 9th, 2021
Help for Lukashenko
EU checks refugee flights from 33 countries
Up to 33 countries and their airlines may help the Belarusian dictator transport migrants to Minsk: In addition to Turkish Airlines, which reject the suspicion, companies from Russia, Syria, Venezuela and Iran are on the EU’s checklist.
The EU is investigating a possible involvement of Russia in the refugee conflict with Belarus. Brussels has Moscow “on the radar” because of refugee flights to Minsk, said EU Commission spokesman Peter Stano. In press reports it had been said that the Russian airline Aeroflot was also transporting refugees to Belarus, who would then be taken to the EU’s external borders.
The EU Commission “is investigating flights from Russia and the possible involvement of Russia in general,” the spokesman said. He accused the Belarusian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, of “gangster methods”. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Lukashenko his support at an online summit in early November.
EU puts pressure on Turkey, Iraq and Egypt
Russia is one of a total of 33 countries from which, according to the Commission, refugees may be smuggled into the EU via Belarus. The EU has already put pressure on 13 countries such as Turkey, Iraq and Egypt because of the refugee flights. Iraq cut certain connections to Belarus after a visit by EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell. The airline Turkish Airlines denied media reports that the airline was targeting migrants from Turkey to Belarus.
“The news in the media is not true,” said Turkish Airlines in the afternoon. “Our company works with international authorities on flights around the world, taking into account all security sensitivities and carrying out its operations to this extent,” it said. Previously, the “Bild” newspaper reported that Turkey, with the help of the semi-state Turkish Airlines, was targeting migrants to Belarus in order to support Lukashenko.
Daily flights from Istanbul to Minsk
The Polish government and the EU accuse Lukashenko of allowing the migrants to be brought into the country in order to then smuggle them into the EU. Lukashenko himself, often criticized as the “last dictator of Europe”, announced that he would no longer stop people on their way to Europe – as a reaction to Western sanctions against Belarus. According to the flight schedule, Turkish Airlines flies to Belarus ten times a month. The airline currently has one or two direct flights to Minsk from Istanbul every day. The Belarusian airline Belavia also flies to Minsk from Istanbul up to twice a day.
In addition to Russia and the 13 countries with which Brussels is holding direct talks, the EU is currently examining 20 other countries whose airlines it suspects are transporting refugees. These include Iran, Qatar, Syria, Libya and Venezuela.