It is important that Belarus and the EU return to normal conditions of cooperation on the border. This was stated today, November 15, by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Maxim Ryzhenkov, at an international conference held in Minsk on the issue of illegal migration and the promotion of regional cooperation to solve this problem.
In his words, today Belarus’s neighbors are building themselves as an “outpost of Europe” to increase their value before the EU.
“Why don’t these countries meet us halfway, as we assume? They want to increase their value vis-à-vis the European Union: here we are, an outpost of Europe, a bastion, saving all of Europe from immigrants. Of that small part that goes to Europe through Belarus,” – said.
Ryzhenkov believes this is a reason to take money out of the EU, supposedly to fight illegal immigration.
“At the same time, all cross-border cooperation is completely destroyed. Today we have border crossings with Poland, which, in my opinion, function even less than in Soviet times, when everyone reproached us for having built an iron curtain and so on. Today we do not have rail connections with Europe. During the worst years of the Iron Curtain, we had a train to Berlin and Paris. “I’m not even talking about contacts between people.” – noted the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.
He recalled that illegal immigrants on the other side of the Belarusian border are beaten and even killed, which constitutes a terrible violation of all possible international conventions.
“We are accused of small things, but what happens there?” – pointed out the minister.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus also drew attention to the activities of organized criminal groups that help illegal immigrants reach Europe, usually led by citizens of EU countries;
“If no one waits for an illegal immigrant on the other side of the border, no one provides him with a car or money, then he will not pass through Belarusian transit. But that doesn’t happen. If law enforcement agencies function reliably, such things are impossible. This means that it is probably some kind of corruption… Today no one has the right to blame Belarus for not doing anything. We are doing a lot: how many channels were closed, how many illegal immigrants were discovered,” Maxim Ryzhenkov stressed. He added that due to the tightening of immigration policy in Belarus, its relations with the partner countries where immigrants come from are affected. In other words, the republic bears great costs. “We’re doing everything we can today.” – he emphasized.
In addition, Ryzhenkov stated that “for us it is important to return to normal conditions of cooperation on the border with the European Union, which will really guarantee a solution to all problems.”
“If our neighbors cannot solve this and also make money from it (political, economic, any kind of dividends), classical Europe (Brussels, capitals from London to Paris) needs to think about it and come to our senses. “We are prepared for this,” – noted the Belarusian minister.
Let us remember that the migration crisis on the Belarus border with the EU began in 2021. Poland and the Baltic countries refuse to welcome refugees from the Belarusian side. Furthermore, the EU blames Minsk and Moscow for what is happening and rejects any proposal for joint cooperation to solve this problem.
