The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed the new details of the sanctions, because the EU’s foreign minister will expand the penalties against Belarus on Monday (November 15), because EU officials said that the ” Hybrid attack”.
“Lukashenko got it wrong, he thought that in this way he would twist our arms and force us to lift the sanctions,” he told Sunday newspaper, French Weekly.
“The situation is quite the opposite,” he added.
The EU’s chief diplomat stated that the ministers will be prepared to approve an expanded legal framework that will apply to anyone involved in trafficking in immigrants, including airlines, travel agencies and officials, which means prohibiting their leaders from travelling and freezing their European assets .
Borel also stated that the existing sanctions framework will be used to target about 30 Lukashenko government officials involved in the crisis.
EU diplomats told EURACTIV over the weekend that this may include the airport in Minsk, possibly another civilian airport, and a hotel for migrants.
A diplomat said that although this is included in the draft to be reviewed on Monday, the final list of personnel will take several weeks to finalize.
In the past week, the European Union has been negotiating with Turkish Airlines and other international airlines, urging them to suspend one-way tickets to Minsk. The European Union stated that migrants were transported to the Polish border from there as a means to pressure the European Union.
Under pressure from the European Union, Turkey, one of the routes chosen by immigrants, has now banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from flying to Belarus.
Heiko Maas Said Sunday (November 14) “all Airlines should follow the example of Turkish Airlines and other airlines, Has consistently refused Lukashenko’s smuggling business. ”
The private Syrian airline Cham Wings Airlines also said it would stop flights to Minsk.
“Europe is in danger, and Europeans are not aware of it,” Borrell told French newspapers.
“Today’s world (…) is no longer governed by the desire for peace and kindness. We still have power conflicts between carnivores, and herbivores are unlikely to survive,” he added.
This is also the first high-level contact between Brussels and Minsk since the eruption of the immigration crisis on the eastern border of the European Union. Borel had a phone call with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makoyi and talked about the “precarious humanitarian situation on the border between Poland and Belarus”. situation”.
“The current situation is unacceptable and must be stopped. People should not be used as weapons,” Borrell Tell mark.
After answering the phone, Makeyi said that under the current circumstances, the sanctions would “backfire”.
Western countries accuse the government of President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus of designing the crisis by encouraging immigrants to come to Belarus and then bring them to the border.
Lukashenko denied these allegations and accused the West of increasing tensions.
Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Saturday that there were rumors circulating among the immigrants that Poland would allow them to pass on Monday and that the coach would pick them up from Germany.
The government has sent text messages to all foreign mobile phones along the border, calling it “complete lie and nonsense.”
The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denied this rumor.
