Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko warned on Tuesday that he will not defend Western countries against the influx of migrants, one of the main points of divergence between Minsk and the European Union, reports EFE.
“We are accused of encouraging immigration. I’ve always been honest. We will not defend anyone against immigrants. Especially those who adopt economic sanctions against us. Why should we defend them?” Lukashenko said after attending the Christmas service according to the Julian calendar, reports the state agency BELTA.
Lukashenko, who has been accused of using migration as a weapon in a hybrid war against his neighbors, admitted that Belarus is the scene of “a great transit to the West”.
Among other things, he said that among the migrants there are people fleeing the war, but also some who want to work “and send some money home to feed their children”.
“But uncontrolled migration is a tragedy”, admitted the leader from Minsk.
For several years, the EU has accused Minsk of favoring the influx of migrants from the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa to illegally cross EU borders, especially in Poland.
The climax in this migration-related war dates back to November 2021, when hundreds of migrants gathered in front of the Polish border in an attempt to cross into EU territory, for which Brussels directly accused Lukashenko.
For the same reason, Finland, which joined NATO after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, had to close almost all border crossing points with Russia.
Lukashenko, in power since 1994, will run for a seventh term in the presidential elections on January 26.
The West did not recognize his victory in the previous elections, which in August 2020 led to the largest anti-government protests in the history of the former Soviet republic.
Source: www.cotidianul.ro
