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Alexander Lukashenko
Photo: Andrei Stasevich / AP
Olaf Scholz defended Poland against criticism of strengthening its border with Belarus.
The EU partner is facing a dramatic challenge and needs solidarity, said the Chancellor-designate.
"I think that if the Polish government makes such a decision, it is not up to us to say not to do it," he said when asked if he was in favor of building a wall on the EU's external border.
At an event by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Scholz called for "clear, tough" sanctions against the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.
This is a "very bad dictator" and has lost all legitimacy.
One must work to ensure that a democratic process can take place in Belarus.
He also supports EU sanctions against airlines and aid for the people in the Belarusian-Polish border area, said the SPD politician.
Support for people returning to their homeland is also important.
One shouldn't play the game of Lukashenko and the smuggler, who lured people to Belarus with false promises.
Lukashenko is accused of bringing refugees from crisis regions to the EU's external border in an organized manner.
On Poland's border with Belarus, thousands of migrants on the Belarusian side have been waiting for several days at temperatures around freezing point in makeshift camps in the forest.
The still incumbent Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas spoke out clearly against accepting migrants stuck in Belarus in Germany.
"I would advocate that the people who are there (...) be returned to their countries of origin."
You can see that people are flying to Belarus with plane tickets.
"Those who get political asylum usually have other routes to take," he said.
Iraq wants to bring Iraqi refugees from Belarus back to their home country on Thursday with a first special flight.
The return is voluntary, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad told Iraqi state television on Sunday.
About 750 Iraqis are known to be stuck on the Belarusian border.
EU defense ministers consult with NATO
"These people are being instrumentalized by Mr. (Alexander) Lukashenko from Belarus, and we mustn't give in to that either," said Maas.
"We must also (...) make it clear that the EU will not allow itself to be blackmailed by criminals like Lukashenko."
The defense ministers of the European Union will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday because of the crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border.
as / dpa / AFP / Reuters
