Germany called for tougher sanctions against Minsk because of migrants

The European Union intends to expand and tighten sanctions against Minsk due to the massive accumulation of migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border. This was stated by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, his words are reported by the press service of the ministry.

“We will impose sanctions on everyone involved in the targeted importation of migrants. [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenka must understand that his calculation is not working. This, by the way, does not exclude the possibility of extending sanctions to other areas of the economy in the future,” the minister said.

Maas noted that the EU also needs to conduct outreach in the countries of origin of migrants in order to "eliminate false promises" that cause migrants to pay "thousands of dollars." The head of the German Foreign Ministry also called Lukashenka's actions "inhuman" and noted that no one should help him in them, in particular, the countries of origin of migrants, transit, and those airlines that bring them to Belarus. “The European Union cannot be blackmailed,” he concluded.

Also, the Pentagon reported that they fear destabilization of the situation in the region due to what is happening on the Polish-Belarusian border. “We are generally concerned <...> by these actions and we take into account the potential destabilizing effects in the region and in general,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing. He also noted that the department agrees with the conclusion of the State Department and lays responsibility for what is happening on the authorities of Belarus.