Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Monday that the European Union was refusing to discuss the fate of 2,000 migrants wishing to go to Europe and stranded in Belarus.
The West accuses Belarus of bringing in would-be migrants — mostly from the Middle East — and taking them to areas along its borders with EU members Poland and Lithuania with promises of an easy crossing.
Belarus denies the claim, instead criticising the EU for not taking in the migrants. “I am waiting for the EU to respond on the issue of 2,000 refugees,” Lukashenko told officials on Monday, adding that he expected Europe to let the migrants in.
“They said, (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel promised me that they will consider this problem at the level of the European Union.
But they are not doing it,” he said, quoted by state news agency Belta. Lukashenko said European officials refused any contact on the subject despite calls from the Belarusian foreign minister.—AFP
