Belarus continues to fight illegal migration, and has closed down eleven migration caravans and arrested about 700 people for attempting to cross the border this year alone, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2021) Belarus continues to fight illegal migration, and has closed down eleven migration caravans and arrested about 700 people for attempting to cross the border this year alone, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told Sputnik in an interview.
"We have defended and guarded the border, and we continue to do so. This year alone, about 700 people were arrested for attempting to cross the border, 11 migrant caravans were closed, 14 criminal cases were opened," Makei said.
The influx of illegal migrants attempting to reach the European Union through Belarus is the objective result of the current geopolitical situation and Minsk has had no hand in it, the minister noted.
"The accusations against Belarus have no basis. This is not the fault of Belarus. This is the result of the EU's thoughtless policy of destroying statehood in a number of countries, inviting refugees and declaring that they (European countries) are ready to give them shelter. But now they have radically changed their policy, trying to punish Belarus with this," Makei said.
He also doubted the rationality of the decision to build a fence on the border with Belarus to combat migration, as it is unlikely to deter migrants. On the topic of Belarus in general, Brussels often makes its decisions based on opinions from Poland and Lithuania and does not have much knowledge about the real situation in the republic, thus failing in its coordinating role, Makei added.
In recent months, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania have reported an increase in the number of people trying to cross the border from Belarus illegally, accusing Minsk of using migrants as a "hybrid weapon" and orchestrating a crisis to get back at Brussels for sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian leader has rejected the accusations, saying his cash-strapped country can no longer afford tight border controls.
