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Belarus: Foreign Office now denies "lies" - Poland warns of a planned storm on the border

2021-11-15T04:39:22.607Z


The situation on the border between Poland and Belarus is extremely tense. Putin offers his help. And rumors are rampant. The news ticker.


The situation on the border between Poland and Belarus is extremely tense.

Putin offers his help.

And rumors are rampant.

The news ticker.

  • In the UN Security Council, European countries, together with the USA, condemn the government's actions in Minsk

    (update from November 12, 10:40 a.m.).

  • Belarusian soldiers are now likely to have torn down a border fence so that the migrants can move on to Poland

    (update from November 13th, 8:10 pm)

    .

  • Poland and Germany warn migrants via SMS and Twitter of rumors circulating about an opportunity to travel to the Federal Republic

    (update from November 14, 6:22 p.m.)

    .

  • This news ticker is continuously updated.

Update from November 14, 10:37 p.m.:

Latvia has started a previously unannounced military exercise on the border with Belarus.

Around 3,000 soldiers from the regular armed forces and volunteer army of the Baltic EU and NATO country will take part, as Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said on Latvian television on Sunday.

According to a spokeswoman for the Latvian Ministry of Defense, the maneuver, which will run until December 12, is intended to train large-scale cooperation between various military units and command structures as well as logistics and mobility.

The member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - including Russia and Belarus - have been informed about the exercise, she told the Leta agency.

Update from November 14th, 8:55 p.m.:

In view of the refugee drama on the border between Poland and Belarus, the EU foreign ministers will discuss new sanctions on Monday.

According to Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD), the sanctions are to be extended to persons who “directly or indirectly” support the smuggling of migrants to Belarus.

Airlines that are still involved in the transport of refugees via Belarus could, according to Maas, have their overflight rights and landing permits withdrawn in the EU.

Thousands of people, especially from the Middle East, are currently stuck in temperatures around freezing in the Belarusian border area with the EU.

Belarus: Poland warns of a planned storm on the border

Update from November 14th, 6:38 p.m.:

Poland's border guards have accused the security forces in Belarus of preparing the migrants stuck at the common border for a breach of the barrier. At the border town of Kuznica, many tents had disappeared in the camp on the Belarusian side, the border guards wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "The foreigners get instructions, tools and tear gas from the Belarusian security forces."

The Ministry of Defense said the refugees had gathered branches from the forest.

In addition, many Belarusian media are present.

The Polish police warned the migrants via loudspeaker announcements in English: “If you do not follow the instructions, violence will be used.” However, the information cannot be independently verified as Poland has declared a state of emergency in the border region.

Journalists and helpers are not allowed in.

Belarus border: Foreign Office denies "lies" - "puts people in great danger"

Update from November 14th, 6:22 p.m.:

According to official Polish authorities (

see update from 12.50 p.m.

), the Foreign Office is now also

denying

rumors that Germany is planning to pick up refugees at the Belarusian-Polish border by bus.

Corresponding speculations are "wrong", according to a tweet from the Foreign Office in English and Arabic.

Those who spread such lies put people “in great danger”.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert also shared the message on Sunday evening via his official account.

Rumors that Germany is planning to send busses to pick up persons from #Belarus through #Poland to Germany are false.

Whoever spreads these lies puts people in great danger.

#RumoursAboutGermany

- GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) November 14, 2021

Update from November 14th, 5.30 p.m.:

In view of the crisis involving thousands of migrants on the border between Poland and Belarus, the EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell telephoned the foreign minister of the former Soviet republic, Vladimir Makej.

Borrell then warned on Twitter: "People should not be used as weapons." The Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Makej had informed that his country had taken steps against mass migration from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Minsk is ready for dialogue.

Belarus: Kretschmer does not want to take in refugees - neither in Germany nor in the EU

Update from November 14th, 3:45 p.m.:

Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has spoken out against accepting migrants stuck in the border area between Belarus and Poland in Germany. “We are not allowed to accept these migrants in the EU or in Germany. If you wanted that, they wouldn't have to take the detour via Minsk, but could fly straight to Germany, ”Kretschmer told

Bild am Sonntag.

“But we have clear rules when it comes to immigration.

Recognized refugees or skilled workers can come.

Neither is the case with the migrants who were lured by Lukashenko.

We have to show the dictator in Minsk that this measure will not be successful.

Then he will stop smuggling, ”said Kretschmer.

Society has to endure the pictures of people in need at the border and help Poland secure its external EU border, Kretschmer added.

"Warsaw is doing the right thing, so we cannot stab Poles in the back."

Poland: Heiko Maas threatens airlines with sanctions in refugee dispute with Belarus

Update from November 14th, 3:25 p.m .:

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) has threatened airlines that continue to participate in the transport of refugees via Belarus with the withdrawal of overflight rights and landing permits in the EU. "All airlines should follow the example of Turkish Airlines and others and consistently refuse Lukashenko's smuggling business," Maas said on Twitter on Sunday. "For anyone who doesn't do that, there will be tough sanctions," announced Maas. Overflight rights and landing permits in the EU are then "no longer inviolable". It is possible to disengage from the chain of smugglers, Maas told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Sunday.

The private Syrian airline Cham Wings announced on Saturday that it had suspended flights to Minsk for all passengers because it “cannot distinguish between travelers and migrants”.

Poland-Belarus border: Putin apparently offers help - NATO special session possible?

Update from November 14th, 3 p.m.:

In view of the crisis involving thousands of migrants on the EU's external border between Poland and Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered help.

Moscow is ready to contribute "in any way possible" to a solution, Putin said in an interview that Russian state television aired on Sunday.

A Kremlin spokesman announced last week that Russia wanted to get involved.

Because of the tense situation, Poland is considering, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, together with Lithuania and Latvia, to request a special NATO meeting.

"We are discussing with Latvia and especially with Lithuania whether we should not activate Article 4 of NATO," Morawiecki told the PAP news agency on Sunday.

Article 4 provides for consultations if a member thinks that the integrity of their own territory, political independence or their own security is threatened.

+

Migrants stand in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the Polish-Belarusian border.

According to the Polish government, Belarus is sending more and more armed security forces to its border with Poland.

© Leonid Shcheglov / dpa

Escalation at the Belarus border: Poland warns migrants via SMS about rumors about Germany - "a lie and nonsense"

Update from November 14th, 12.50 p.m.:

Poland warns migrants on the border with Belarus via SMS not to believe rumors about an allegedly imminent transit to Germany. The message circulated among migrants that buses from Germany would pick up the refugees on November 15 and that Poland had given their consent to pass through, according to the short message. “That is a lie and nonsense! Poland will continue to protect its border with Belarus. ”The SMS in English would be received by everyone whose cell phones were in the border area within range of the Polish cell phone, wrote Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski on Twitter. The short message contains a link to the website of his ministry, where this message can be found in five languages.

On Tuesday, German activists in Poland failed in their attempt to bring migrants from the border operation to Germany.

The bus from the Seebrücke Deutschland and LeaveNoOneBehind initiatives was stopped by the Polish police a few kilometers before the Kuznica border crossing.

Poland has declared a state of emergency in a three-kilometer zone along the border.

Aid organizations are not allowed in.

Belarus: Border crisis continues to be dramatic - Polish soldier apparently accidentally killed

Update from November 14th, 11.30 a.m.:

Apparently a Polish soldier was killed on the Belarusian border. According to the spokesman for the Polish security forces, the shot came from the weapon of another Polish soldier. It is an accident. This is reported by the

Standard

, among others

. "According to preliminary findings, there was a shot from a service weapon, as a result of which the soldier died, and there were no third parties involved in the event," said the statement published on Twitter.

Meanwhile, according to the Polish police, a group of around 50 migrants broke through the barrier on the border with Belarus and reached Poland.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening near the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

The officers initially arrested 22 Iraqis.

All other migrants were arrested shortly afterwards by border guards and soldiers, said a spokeswoman for the border guard.

The entire group had been brought back to the border in Belarus. 

Escalation on Poland's border: Lukashenko soldiers tear down the fence - Putin gives Merkel advice

Update from November 13th, 8:10 p.m.:

In the Belarusian-Polish border area, the next escalation level should now have been reached. According to a report by the

Tagesschau

, Belarusian soldiers are said to have torn down a border fence to allow migrants to enter the EU. At least that is what the Polish border troops claimed. The Belarusians also blinded them with laser beams "and provided the foreigners with tear gas that was used against the Polish services," border guards told the

Tagesschau

. Shortly before, a dead Syrian was found in the forest on the border with Belarus. The cause of death is still unknown.

Meanwhile, according to the dpa, Russian President Vladimir Putin again spoke out in favor of a direct dialogue between Germany and Belarus.

Chancellor Merkel should speak to Lukashenko directly.

Putin said on state television that he had heard from talks with Lukashenko and Merkel that the two were open to joint consultations.

On the other hand, Putin believes that the threat by the Belarusian ruler to the EU to turn off the gas is completely wrong.

“He can do that.

But that doesn't lead to anything good, and of course I'll talk to him about the subject, ”the president said on Russian television, according to dpa.

+

For the people in the Belarusian-Polish border area, the situation seems to be getting worse.

© Leonid Shcheglov / dpa

At the same time, Putin has denied any guilt on the part of Russia.

On the other hand, he accused the Polish border guards of “inhumane action”, according to the dpa.

Accordingly, the troops beat the migrants and would turn on sirens and lights at night where there were children and heavily pregnant women.

These allegations have not yet been confirmed.

Belarus: Security forces allegedly shoot in the air - Lukashenko meanwhile orders help for children

Update from November 13th, 1:15 p.m.:

The authoritarian Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has ordered humanitarian aid, especially for the children of migrants stranded in the border area with Poland. The Belarusian state news agency Belta reported on Saturday that food tents should be set up. Lukashenko, however, is criticized for having brought people into this miserable situation in the first place. The EU accuses him of deliberately smuggling in migrants from crisis areas and then pushing them towards the EU's external border.


The opposition Belarusian Telegram channel

Nexta

posted videos

allegedly showing

Belarusian security forces shooting in the air to intimidate migrants.

There were also children among the people, "about whom the state propagandists allegedly worry so much," it said.

Because independent journalists are not allowed into the border area, such information cannot be verified at the moment.

With temperatures around freezing point, thousands of migrants have been waiting in makeshift camps in the forest for several days.

According to Belarusian sources, several dozen people gathered at the closed Kuznica border crossing on Saturday morning and shouted “Germany, Germany!”.

Many hope for a life in the Federal Republic.

Update from November 12th, 3:44 p.m

.: The three federal states on the border with Poland are pressing for stronger action against unauthorized entries via Belarus and Poland to Germany.

Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) and his colleagues from Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania want to call for clear measures against Belarus at the Interior Ministers' Conference in Stuttgart at the beginning of December, ministry circles in Potsdam said.

In addition, an orderly reception of asylum seekers is necessary.

Countries that refuse to take back migrants should be threatened with consequences in terms of development aid.

Belarus crisis: “Pro Asyl” calls for refugees to be accepted into Germany

In return, the human rights organization “Pro Asyl” demanded that refugees be admitted to Germany.

“We demand that Germany at least let all those who have family ties to Germany enter the country,” said managing director Günter Burkhardt.

In addition, he targeted so-called pushbacks by Polish security forces.

+

Thousands of migrants are still on the border with Poland.

© Leonid Shcheglov / BelTA / AP / dpa

"The border must be opened to prevent further deaths and to provide humanitarian aid," Burkhardt continued. "We have to treat people as people and ask ourselves why this is not happening and whether racist thought patterns guide political action at the EU border." At the moment, "humanity and justice, including the freedom of the press guaranteed in the EU and access to the rule of law, have fallen by the wayside".

But Germany has also "systematically blocked family reunification so far" and the relationship that many of the refugees have to Germany "has not yet played a role," criticized Burkhardt.

He called for "legal ways" so that people outside of the nuclear family could come to relatives in Germany.

Burkhardt sees the future federal government as responsible for this.

+

Brandenburg Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) wants to demand clear measures against Belarus.

© Jens Kalaene / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa

Belarus crisis: US Vice President Harris "very worried" - Iraq wants to bring back migrants

Update from November 12, 3:30 p.m

.: The US is concerned about the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, where thousands of migrants are waiting on their way to the EU. "We are very concerned and have a look at it," said US Vice President Kamala Harris in Paris. "The Lukashenko regime is involved in worrying activities." The world is watching what is happening there, said Harris.

Update from November 12, 3:23 p.m

.: Iraq apparently wants to help curb the influx of migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border.

The government in Baghdad is now planning to bring back Iraqi migrants stuck on the EU's eastern external border.

They are ready to organize several trips for Iraqis "who want to return," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman for the

AFP

news

agency

.

Those willing to return are currently being registered.

Federal government regrets Lukashenko's gas threat - Maas announces new sanctions against Belarus

Update from November 12th, 2:46 p.m

.: The German government has "regretted" threats by the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko

to stop

gas transit to the EU, said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Berlin.

The Yamal-Europe pipeline is only one of several pipelines, which is why Germany's security of supply is guaranteed.

In view of possible new EU sanctions against Belarus, Lukashenko threatened to stop gas transit through the Yamal-Europe pipeline.

The Yamal-Europe pipeline transports only a small part of the gas to the west.

Update from November 12th, 2.40 p.m

.: In the migration dispute with Belarus, the EU will impose new sanctions in the coming week, according to the acting Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD).

At the meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday in Brussels, the sanctions would be extended to people "who indirectly or directly" supported the smuggling of migrants to Belarus, Maas told the

Rheinische Post

and the

Bonner General-Anzeiger

.

"We have to ensure that this chain of smugglers is broken," said Maas.

In addition, there will be an extensive list of sanctioned individuals very soon.

In the dispute, Maas had already announced that the sanctions against Belarus would be tightened.

The Foreign Minister now emphasized that airlines, too, might have to expect punitive measures.

"All airlines need to know who is guilty of complicity in criminal smugglers who will have to face consequences, including sanctions for overflight rights or landing permits."

According to Maas, talks are ongoing with airlines that are already having an impact.

For example, Turkish Airlines no longer takes citizens from Iraq, Syria and Yemen on flights to Minsk.

Update from November 12, 1:42 p.m

.: According to the Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, British soldiers will now also help secure the Belarusian border.

These would work with the Polish military, Blaszczak informed on Twitter.

After an initial exploration of the border, the British soldiers will be informed of the details, said the Polish Defense Minister.

Rozpoczął się rekonesans przed wsparciem wojsk inżynieryjnych Wielkiej Brytanii.

Nasi żołnierze nawiążą współpracę przy umacnianiu ogrodzenia na granicy polsko-białoruskiej.

Po zakończeniu rekonesansu poinformujemy o szczegółach.

pic.twitter.com/jwMEkH5u09

- Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) November 12, 2021

Belarus and Russia hold military maneuvers on Polish border - EU announces progress in curbing the flow of migrants

Update from November 12, 1:37 p.m

.: Belarus and Russia have announced joint military exercises near the Polish border.

A "joint tactical battalion group" with paratroopers from both countries is holding exercises in the Grodno region in western Belarus, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced on Telegram on Friday.

It justified the move with the "increase in military activity" near the Belarusian border.


According to Mink, Russian Il-76 military aircraft and Belarusian military helicopters are involved in the exercises.

According to Russian news agencies, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow said it was a surprise mission to "check the combat readiness" of the troops.

Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Giczan shared photos of the joint military exercises on Twitter.

First photos of Russian paratroopers deployed to Belarus' border with Poland and Lithuania.

pic.twitter.com/cU3yYQpKs8

- Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) November 12, 2021

Update from November 12th, 1:35 p.m

.: According to the EU Commission, Brussels' efforts to curb the influx of migrants from the Middle East on the external border with Belarus are showing initial successes.

There is "progress on all fronts," said the Vice President of the EU Commission responsible for migration, Margaritis Schinas, on Friday after a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun in Beirut.

On Thursday, Schinas held talks on the subject in Dubai.


Brussels had already put pressure on several states and threatened sanctions against airlines involved in the smuggling of refugees.

Turkey then banned nationals from Syria, Iraq and Yemen from flights from Turkish airports to Belarus on Friday.

People from Lebanon with a destination EU are also to be flown to Minsk.

During his visit to Dubai, Schinas welcomed the "strong commitment" of the United Arab Emirates authorities to "tackle this problem together," the Commission said.

"I will travel to Baghdad on Monday and hopefully to Ankara at the end of next week," said Schinas in Beirut.

Europe is currently counting "in a way its friends and we are very happy that we have many".

Belarus crisis: “more pressure” - opposition leader Tichanowskaya calls for “more courageous action” from Germany

Update from November 12, 10:52 a.m

.: The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanowskaja has called on Germany to take more decisive action against those in power in her home country.

"We continue to communicate with the German government (...) so that they make Belarus a priority in foreign policy, so that they can be more courageous in their actions," said the exiled opposition politician in an interview with Deutsche Welle on Thursday.

She was “grateful for any support” from every country, but at the same time “much more could be done”, she said, and called for “more economic and political pressure on the regime”.

She further stated: "Because of the bureaucracy, decisions are made rather slowly, perhaps also out of uncertainty." However, the migration crisis "did not start yesterday," but new sanctions are only now being discussed, she added.

She also expressed her conviction that Lukashenko will not carry out his threat after the gas supplies to the EU are stopped.

Tichanovskaya thinks this is a "bluff".

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received Tichanowskaya on Thursday against the background of the refugee dispute between the EU and Belarus at Bellevue Palace.

+

The Belarusian opposition politician Tichanovskaya called for “more courageous action” against Lukashenko.

Before that, she met Federal President Steinmeier.

© Wolfgang Kumm / dpa

UN Security Council: European countries and USA condemn Lukashenko's government

Update from November 12, 10:40 a.m

.: The USA and several European countries have condemned the government's actions in Minsk with a view to the refugee crisis on the border between Belarus and the EU.

In a joint statement, they accused Belarus of "orchestrated instrumentalization of people" at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday.

The aim of the ruler Alexander Lukashenko's action is to "destabilize the external border of the European Union".


Das Ziel von Belarus bestehe auch darin, "die Nachbarländer zu destabilisieren" und "die Aufmerksamkeit von seinen eigenen zunehmenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen abzulenken", hieß es in der gemeinsamen Erklärung der USA, Frankreichs, Estlands, Irlands, Großbritanniens und Norwegens weiter. Lukaschenkos Strategie sei "inakzeptabel" und müsse eine "starke internationale Reaktion" nach sich ziehen.

Dmitri Poljanski, der stellvertretende UNO-Botschafter Russlands, sprach vor der Sitzung von einer „masochistischen Neigung“ seiner westlichen Kollegen: Es sei sehr mutig, dieses Thema, welches eine Schande für die EU sei, vor Russland anzusprechen. Daneben müssten nicht alle Probleme vom Sicherheitsrat angegangen werden, so Poljanski.

Erstmeldung vom 12. November, 9.45 Uhr: Aktuell ist die belarussisch-polnische Grenze ein Hotspot für einen neuen Flüchtlingsstrom in Richtung Europa. Mit der Hoffnung, in europäische Länder zu gelangen, warten Tausende Migranten in eisigen Temperaturen an der östlichen EU-Außengrenze. Bereits mehrfach versuchten größere Gruppen vergeblich, die Zaunanlage zu durchbrechen, mit der Polen sie von einem Grenzübertritt abhalten will.

Migranten an polnischer Grenze - Türkische Behörden wollen Flüge nach Belarus kontrollieren

Die Regierung in Warschau und die EU werfen dem autoritären belarussischen Machthaber Alexander Lukaschenko vor, gezielt Menschen aus Krisenregionen einfliegen zu lassen, um sie dann in die EU zu schleusen. Lukaschenko weist die Vorwürfe bislang zurück und droht der EU, unter anderem mit dem Abstellen von Gas-Leitungen. Die EU hat neue Sanktionen auf den Weg gebracht, die Anfang nächster Woche formell beschlossen werden könnten.

Nun folgt ein entscheidender Schritt aus der Türkei, der die Situation an der EU-Außengrenze positiv beeinträchtigen könnte. Auf Druck der Europäischen Union will Ankara ab jetzt Flüge nach Belarus kontrollieren, um die Weiterreise von Migranten vorwiegend aus dem nördlichen Teil von Irak zu verhindern, bestätigte ein EU-Beamter gegenüber Bloomberg. Zuvor zeigte eine Untersuchung, dass die Route der Migranten nach Belarus überwiegend über die Türkei läuft.

Belarus-Migrantenkrise: keine Tickets nach Minsk aus der Türkei - Einschränkungen für Belavia

Nach Angaben des EU-Beamten sollen keine One-Way-Tickets mehr für Flüge aus der Türkei nach Minsk verkauft werden. Belavia, die staatliche Fluggesellschaft von Belarus, werde zudem auch nicht mehr das Middle-East-Netzwerk von Turkish Airlines nutzen können, um Reisende über Istanbul nach Minsk zu fliegen, hieß es. Menschen mit syrischen, irakischen und jemenitischen Pässen dürften bis auf weiteres keine Tickets mehr kaufen und nicht mehr an Bord gehen, teilte die zivile Luftfahrtbehörde der Türkei am Freitag mit.

The state-owned Belarusian airline Belavia also announced on its website that citizens from the three countries were no longer allowed to board their planes according to a decision by the Turkish authorities.

Passengers affected by the ban could return their tickets at the point of sale and get their money refunded.

(dpa / bb)

List of rubric lists: © Oksana Manchuk

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-15

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