Germany is in favor of imposing new EU sanctions on Belarus, German Foreign Minister Haiko Maas said on Wednesday, accusing Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko of “ruthlessly” exploiting thousands of immigrants.
“We will impose sanctions on all those involved in targeted migrant trafficking,” Maas said in a press release issued by his services, warning that the EU was working to “extend and strengthen (…) sanctions against him.” Lukashenko regime “.
“Lukashenko must realize that his calculations will have no effect,” he added.
Thousands of desperate migrants are trapped in the midst of increasingly bad weather and polar cold on Belarus’ border with Poland. Warsaw argues that Belarus and Russia are using migrants to destabilize European security.
For months, Europeans have accused Alexander Lukashenko of creating a crisis by issuing visas to immigrants and then sending them to Europe in an attempt to avenge the European sanctions imposed on his government by Brussels over the suppression of the 2020 Russian presidential election. .
Describing the situation on the Belarusian border as “horrible”, Mr Maas accused Mr Lukashenko of causing a “dangerous” situation from which “there is no way out for him”.
He also assured that Brussels intends to take action against countries and airlines involved in the transfer of migrants to Belarus.
“No one should be allowed to take part in Lukashenko’s inhumane acts with impunity,” he said, warning that “we, as the EU, are ready to guarantee that there will be consequences.”
For his part, President Lukashenko, an ally of Moscow, has stressed that his country “will not kneel” in front of the EU.
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