Belarus is at the work of "
organized trafficking in human beings at the border",
accused Clément Beaune, Secretary of State to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of European Affairs, at the microphone. by Jean-Jacques Bourdin, this Thursday, November 11, 2021 on BFMTV and RMC.
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
"is trying to put pressure on the European Union, and he is doing it with a few thousand people whom he is using like cannon fodder,
" he continued.
“We have known since 2020 that there was this fraudulent presidential election in Belarus. Mr. Lukashenko - I no longer say President Lukashenko - has kept power with his family, with a dictatorial regime, and the European Union has reacted with a certain number of sanctions ”
, recalled Clément Beaune at the microphone of Jean-Jacques Bourdin, to explain this attempt to “pressure” the Belarusian regime on Europe.
The day before, government spokesman Gabriel Attal had used the same terms to denounce the actions of the Belarusian president:
“You have to qualify things: what the Belarusian regime is doing is simply called human trafficking.
You really have to imagine what it is: thousands of migrants who are used, instrumentalized, transported by plane and bus, nassed at the borders (...) of several countries with the aim of putting pressure on them. 'European Union (...) that calls for all condemnation'.
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Thousands of migrants who arrived on Belarusian visas in the hope of reaching the European Union were massed on the Polish border on Tuesday, Warsaw denouncing an
"attack"
orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.
Arrived Monday in a wooded area on the eastern border of the European Union, around 3,000 to 4,000 migrants, mainly Kurds from the Middle East, find themselves facing barbed wire and the large military device deployed by Warsaw, determined to destroy them. stop.
New sanctions to come against Belarus
The Europeans have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for weeks of fueling tensions by issuing visas to migrants, and sending them to the border in revenge for the European sanctions adopted against his country for its repression of a movement of opposition, after the 2020 presidential election.
Regarding possible sanctions against Belarus, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday that
"the meeting of foreign ministers to be held on Monday November 15 and at which Jean-Yves Le Drian will obviously have to look into new sanctions ”
.
Read also Tensions on the border between Belarus and Poland: Minsk denies any role in the crisis and accuses Warsaw
An option confirmed on Wednesday by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
"Early next week there will be an expansion of sanctions"
against Minsk, the German official said after an interview with US President Joe Biden in Washington.
The decision is expected to be taken on Monday, November 15, at a meeting of foreign ministers from the 27 member countries of the European Union.
According to diplomatic sources, this would involve sanctioning around 30 personalities or entities, including the Belavia airline company owned by the Belarusian state and several travel agencies.
These names, accused of organizing the influx of migrants to the EU, will be added to an already long list.
Individual sanctions by the European bloc against Belarusian regime officials currently target 166 people, including President Alexander Lukashenko and two of his sons.
They consist of an asset freeze and a ban on entry into the EU.