the minister Interior of France Geral Darmanen strongly criticized today the “absolutely unacceptable response” and “inhumanity” of Britain towards Ukrainian refugeesin a letter to his British counterpart, Priti Patel.
Trying to reach their relatives across the Channel, about 150 Ukrainians who went to Calais, France, saw British representatives asking them to “turn 180 degrees” and “go to Paris or Brussels” to get visa from the local consulates, the French minister claims.
Darmanen accuses London of “inhumanity” towards refugees, most of whom were “women with young children, the elderly or people with disabilities”.
In all, more than 400 Ukrainian citizens arrived in Calais after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. For several days now, their situation has been causing friction between London and Paris, whose relations are already strained due to the illegal immigrants trying to cross the English Channel. The French government announced on Thursday that Britain would have to set up “a kind of consulate” in Calais to issue direct visas to Ukrainians there.
“It is imperative that your consular authorities, extraordinarily and for as long as the crisis lasts, be able to issue family reunification visas,” Darmanen wrote. “Our shores have become the scene of many human tragedies, not to mention that of Ukrainian families,” the French minister concluded.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
