| Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) holds a press conference after meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow on September 9, 2021. © Reuters=News1 © News1 Reporter Choi Seo-yoon |
With the Belarusian refugee crisis and the gas crisis in Europe approaching as an imminent crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in contact with the Belarusian and French leaders, who are the parties in question, to mediate.
Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov said on the 15th (local time) that Putin had had conversations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko the day before about gas pipelines, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s Rianovosti.
President Putin said on the 13th that he was uncomfortable with the fact that Belarus did not discuss such a decision in advance even though it is an important ally of Russia, but expressed his intention to mediate with the EU.
However, it is not known what kind of content was exchanged in the conversation between the two leaders.
Putin also had a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on the same day and agreed on the need to resolve the refugee problem at the Belarusian border, the Elysee Palace reported.
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| Refugees from the Middle East on their way to European Union (EU) countries, including Germany, clash with Polish police while trying to cross the border at the Belarus-Polish border on November 15, 2021 (local time). © Reuters=News1 © News1 Reporter Choi Seo-yoon |
President Lukashenko is confronting EU countries by blocking migrants from the Middle East to the European Union (EU) such as Germany via Belarus. In addition, Germany and other EU countries are threatening to block their own gas pipelines among the links to Russian gas, an important energy source.
Western countries have raised the level of criticism by announcing new sanctions after President Lukashenko, who is called ‘Europe’s last dictator’, won a sixth term last year. Additional sanctions are also being announced for this refugee crisis.
In response, President Lukashenko threatened to block the gas pipeline, but the EU plans to impose sanctions. EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Joseph Borrell told reporters on the same day that “the fifth sanctions on migrants have been agreed and will be finalized within a few days.”
Meanwhile, according to the Belarusian state media reporters on social media, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with President Lukashenko for about 50 minutes on the same day to discuss refugee issues and humanitarian aid measures, Reuters reported.
Currently, stranded refugees are confronting Polish border guards in the Belarus-Poland border area.
sabi@news1.kr
