At a meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, EU foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions to Belarus, which is believed to have transported migrants to the border.
The meeting on Monday morning will be preceded by the Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) said there was a need to increase pressure on Belarus.
According to Poland, as many as 4,000 people – many of whom are Kurds from Iraq – were stuck in frozen forests on its border, Reuters reported Monday afternoon. The European Union has accused Minsk of inciting migrants across the Belarusian border into EU countries in retaliation for human rights violations.
"It is clear that the European Union must respond together to the threat posed by Belarus’s neighbors, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. What has happened is a common problem," Haavisto said.
According to Reuters, Latvia deployed about 3,000 troops close to the Belarusian border over the weekend in a previously unannounced military exercise.
Ministers have agreed to extend sanctions against Belarus, but precise measures have not yet been defined.
Haavisto praises Turkey, Iraq
Before the meeting, a top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said sanctions are being imposed on the airlines and travel agents involved "in this illegal pushing of migrants."
Haavisto said on Monday morning that he considered the good news that Iraq had offered to arrange return flights for Iraqi citizens who want to return voluntarily from Belarus.
Haavisto also said he was grateful to Turkey for denying Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni citizens access to a flight to Belarus.
"I want to pay tribute to the responsible behavior of Iraq and Turkey. It is clear to them that their airlines and routes are being used to create hybrid pressure on the European Union." Haavisto said Monday morning.
EU ministers will also discuss relations with its eastern neighbors, including Ukraine.
Haavisto said Ukraine is very concerned about its economy and security.
"Ukraine has expressed concern about the increase in military movements on the Russian side." Haavisto said.
Reuters reports that the presidents of Lithuania and Latvia said their countries intend to join Poland if it decides to ask NATO for emergency talks under Article 4 of the Military Alliance’s administrative agreement.
Article 4 allows Allies to request consultations when their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
The difficult situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was also to be discussed at a meeting in Brussels. Fears of a new conflict in the country have risen in recent weeks as the country found itself in its worst political crisis since the end of the war in the 1990s.
Source: The Nordic Page