Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator, spoke by telephone for about fifty minutes with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, reported, Monday evening November 15, the state press agency Belta. The two leaders have, according to a spokesman for the German government, mentioned “The difficult situation” at the Polish border, where 2,000 to 3,000 migrants and refugees, mainly from the Middle East, instrumentalised by the Minsk authorities, have been trying in vain for days to enter the territory of the European Union (EU) . The Chancellor and the President are also said to have spoken of humanitarian aid to these people, at least eight of whom have already died.
This is the first time that Mr Lukashenko has conversed with a European official since the start of the migration crisis and, beyond, since the summer of 2020, when he unleashed a violent crackdown following his contested re-election, which ‘no EU country has recognized. Also on Monday, the president, accused of having organized a vast movement of migrants (from 20,000 to 30,000 of them would have landed in Minsk) to take revenge for the European sanctions taken against him and his country, declared that he wanted to ensure the return of these people ” at her’s “. a “Active work” would be underway to try to convince them. Most of them, however, would refuse the option of a return.
New bluff or real turnaround of the Belarusian leader? Meeting in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Seven, in any case, stuck to their program, noting in passing that Mr. Lukashenko always promised them “Retaliation” and judged “Absurd” their accusations. The new sanctions, based on a new criterion – the instrumentalisation of migration to make it a “hybrid” attack tool – will be specified and announced in the coming days. They will target natural and legal persons.
According to Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, these restrictive measures will also affect Belarusian airlines and tourism operators, as well as travel agencies in the Middle East. After Turkey, the authorities of the United Arab Emirates in any case indicated on Monday that their companies would no longer embark Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans or Yemenis to Minsk.
“Europe is not helpless”
“This is a sign that Europe is not powerless and that its threats of sanctions have borne”, notes Pawel Zerka, researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. However, this specialist calls for vigilance: “Even if things calm down eventually, Europe will not be safe while dictator Lukashenko, who is playing for survival, will remain in place. Economic sanctions will have to be increased. “
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