Putin, Lukashenko: Russian and Belarusian airlines not transporting refugees from the Middle East
Erdogan: “It is inappropriate to blame Turkey”… 1 Syrian refugee killed
Countries suspected of being responsible or involved in the refugee crisis at the Belarus-Polish border have all denied the “accusations”.
The refugee crisis in the Belarus-Polish border area erupted on the 8th when thousands of refugees from the Middle East countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria who were staying in Belarus flocked to the Polish border to enter EU countries and confronted Polish police and soldiers. .
The EU suspects that Belarus intentionally facilitated or at least aided in the influx of refugees from the Middle East to Europe, and that Russian authorities were behind the scenes to use the refugee crisis as a means of oppressing Europe.
The EU is considering sanctions as Russian, Belarusian and Turkish airlines transported refugees from the Middle East to Belarus on a large scale.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said in an interview with his local TV station on the 12th (local time), “We have nothing to do with this.
“Russian airlines did not transport refugees staying in the Belarus-EU border area,” he said.
“Everyone is trying to hold us accountable for all sorts of problems,” he said.
“There are groups that transport refugees to European countries, but they have been active for a long time, and the key links are in European countries,” he said.
Belarus also said that it was not responsible for the refugee crisis, and explained that the reason refugees from the Middle East were flocked to Belarus was because they could enter the country without a visa.
Putin continued, arguing that the West was to blame for the refugee problem, as the West had been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I know that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel are ready for a dialogue,” Putin said.
Putin spoke on the phone with Acting Chancellor Merkel twice and with President Lukashenko once this week to discuss refugee issues.
Belarus and Turkey also denied responsibility.
In an interview with Russian media on the 13th, President Lukashenko insisted that the Belarusian airline Belavia did not transport refugees to Belarus.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also protested that it was not right to blame Turkey or Turkish airlines for the refugee crisis on the Belarus-Polish border.
“Travelers are going to Belarus, going from there to Lithuania, Poland and other EU countries,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian border guard said on the 13th that the situation for refugees in the Belarus-Poland border remains tense.
“About 2,000 refugees from various countries remain in the border area, and the refugees are in difficult conditions,” the border guard said. “The Belarusian authorities are providing them with firewood and water and other humanitarian aid.” .
Refugees are living in tents in the border area, but it is known that the local temperature has dropped below freezing and they are suffering from a lack of water and food.
In the midst of this, it is reported that about 100 refugees at the border of Podlasskie Province in northeastern Poland at the dawn of the 13th tried to cross the border from the Belarus side to Poland, but were blocked by soldiers and escaped into the forest.
There were also deaths, believed to be refugees, in the same area.
Police in Podlasskie said a 20-year-old Syrian national was found dead in a forest in Poland near the border with Belarus.
Police added that the exact cause of death has not been confirmed, and the body has been handed over to the forensic analysis department for an autopsy and investigation.
/yunhap news
