Poland and Latvia on Thursday (September 2) expressed concern about Russia’s upcoming joint military exercise on the western border of Belarus. The European Union accused Minsk of pushing immigration to pressure the European Union.
After thousands of people from Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, and Cameroon entered on foot through dense woods from Belarus, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania blocked the eastern border.
After imposing sanctions on Minsk, the European Union accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of extorting and risking the lives of immigrants to retaliate against the European Union.
Previously, Belarus forced a Western plane to land on its land to arrest a Lukashenko critic on board, as part of a comprehensive crackdown on dissidents protesting the controversial 2020 presidential election.
Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks told the European Parliament: “What is happening in Belarus is a mixed attack on our border, basically the state kidnap people, give them visas, and then push them. Enter the border area.”
“This is a dangerous thing, especially because of the Zapad 2021 military exercise. They are colliding in the same place on the EU border.”
At the same hearing, the Polish EU ambassador stated that Lukashenko is testing the EU and warned that with the Zapad (or “Western”) wargame, which will begin on September 10, the situation may become more serious. nervous.
“Some elements of the exercise will be held near the EU border,” Anjay Sados said. “This creates an additional risk of accidents.”
The European Union — which has increasingly restricted immigration since the Mediterranean immigrants overwhelmed it in 2015 — supports its eastern members to prevent the arrival of irregular migrants, despite rights groups demanding help for the people.
“We need not only EU coordination, but also support, including the possibility of new sanctions, because our borders are under pressure,” Pabrix said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania also called for further sanctions against Belarus, including restrictions on the flag carrier Belarus, which has been banned from entering the European skies, from entering the international financial market.
He said that the new sanctions should target “Belarusian state entities and individuals involved in smuggling migrants across the eastern border of the EU and violating human rights.”
Belarus said last month that the Zapad exercise will involve thousands of soldiers, as well as tanks, artillery and aircraft. The annual exercise often makes the West feel uneasy, but this year’s situation has become more tense on immigration issues.
Lukashenko has stated that he will no longer block immigration after the EU imposed sanctions on the 2020 presidential election and the subsequent suppression of protesters in Minsk.
Approximately 166 people — including government ministers, military and security officials, and judges accused of playing an active role in the crackdown — and 15 entities are now included in the EU’s blacklist, which means that they hold whatever they hold in the EU. Assets are seized and they cannot travel to any of the 27 member states.
Broader economic sanctions prohibit the sale to Belarus of equipment that may be used to monitor the Internet or telephone, and restrict trade in gasoline products and potash, Minsk’s main export product.
