BRUSSELS/WARSAW: The European Union will toughen sanctions on Belarus on Monday and may extend them to include airlines and others involved in transporting migrants, the EU’s top diplomat said, as the migrant crisis on the Polish border intensifies.
Ahead of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting, Germany’s Heiko Maas said airlines could be told to stop transporting migrants to Minsk or face being banned from landing in Europe, warning: “We are nowhere near the end of the sanctions spiral.”
Europe accuses Belarus of mounting “a hybrid attack” by flying in migrants from countries like Syria and Afghanistan and pushing them to cross illegally into EU member Poland. Belarus has repeatedly denied the accusation.
On Monday morning, Polish border guards warned migrants on the other side of the border over loudspeakers that force could be used against them if they disobey orders, after Poland and Lithuania reported they stopped over 100 people each attempting to enter on Sunday.
Arriving at the meeting in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters the ministers would approve further sanctions on Minsk on Monday. The EU might also seek to broaden them to include airlines, travel agents and other people involved in transporting migrants to Belarus.
Borrell said he had told the Belarusian foreign minister over the weekend that the situation on the border was completely unacceptable and that humanitarian help was needed.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was quoted as saying on Monday that Minsk would retaliate against any new sanctions imposed on it by the West.
State news agency Belta also quoted him as saying that Belarus is trying to persuade migrants living in camps near its western border to return home, but without success.
Thousands of migrants have traveled to Belarus in the hope of crossing into the European Union, only to find themselves trapped on the wooded border in bitter winter conditions.
They moved toward the Polish frontier last Monday, setting up a camp there and, in groups, attempting to enter Poland and nearby Lithuania numerous times.
Poland said it had arrested four foreigners on Sunday attempting to transport 33 migrants out of the country.
EU members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have warned the standoff could escalate into a military conflict. Their presidents will meet in Vilnius on Monday to discuss the crisis, and will speak to Polish President Andrzej Duda by videolink.
Belarusian state-owned carrier Belavia said in a notice that the United Arab Emirates had barred Afghan, Syrian, Yemeni and Iraqi citizens from flights to Minsk on Monday.
Arriving in Brussels, Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the EU might help with repatriations from Belarus back to the Middle East.
He called for all Belarusian airports to be off-limits for airlines potentially carrying would-be migrants, adding: “We need to make Minsk airport a no-fly zone.”
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EU to step up sanctions on Belarus over escalating border crisis
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EU to step up sanctions on Belarus over escalating border crisis
Rubio warns Iraq on Iran ties as Al-Maliki sets return
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iraq on Sunday against a pro-Iranian government as the expected return of Nouri Al-Maliki as prime minister stirs Washington’s concern.
Maliki, who left power in 2014 following heated pressure from the United States, has been chosen by Iraq’s largest Shiite bloc, which would put him in line to be nominated prime minister.
Rubio, in a telephone call with incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, voiced hope the next government will work to make Iraq “a force for stability, prosperity and security in the Middle East.”
“The secretary emphasized that a government controlled by Iran cannot successfully put Iraq’s own interests first, keep Iraq out of regional conflicts or advance the mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq,” Rubio said, according to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
A pro-Iranian government in Iraq would be a rare boon for Tehran’s clerical state after it suffered major setbacks at home and in the region.
The Islamic republic has killed thousands of Iranians since mass protests erupted in late December.
Since the October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel has hit Iran both with strikes inside the country and heavy blows against Tehran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, while Iran lost its main Arab ally with the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria.
An Iraqi political source told AFP that the United States had conveyed that it “holds a negative view of previous governments led by former prime minister Maliki.”
In a letter, US representatives said that while the selection of the prime minister is an Iraqi decision, “the United States will make its own sovereign decisions regarding the next government in line with American interests.”
The United States wields key leverage over Iraq as the country’s oil export revenue is largely held at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, in an arrangement reached after the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Chief among US demands is that Iraq prevent a resurgence of Shiite armed groups backed by Iran. Sudani, who took office in 2022, has won US confidence through his delicate efforts to curb violence by the groups.
Maliki initially took office in 2006 with support of the United States as he strongly backed US military efforts against Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni militants.
But the United States eventually soured on Maliki, believing he pushed an excessively sectarian agenda that helped give rise to the Islamic State extremist movement.
Iraq’s parliament meets Tuesday to elect a new president, who holds a largely ceremonial role but will appoint a prime minister.
Maliki, who left power in 2014 following heated pressure from the United States, has been chosen by Iraq’s largest Shiite bloc, which would put him in line to be nominated prime minister.
Rubio, in a telephone call with incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, voiced hope the next government will work to make Iraq “a force for stability, prosperity and security in the Middle East.”
“The secretary emphasized that a government controlled by Iran cannot successfully put Iraq’s own interests first, keep Iraq out of regional conflicts or advance the mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq,” Rubio said, according to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
A pro-Iranian government in Iraq would be a rare boon for Tehran’s clerical state after it suffered major setbacks at home and in the region.
The Islamic republic has killed thousands of Iranians since mass protests erupted in late December.
Since the October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel has hit Iran both with strikes inside the country and heavy blows against Tehran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, while Iran lost its main Arab ally with the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria.
An Iraqi political source told AFP that the United States had conveyed that it “holds a negative view of previous governments led by former prime minister Maliki.”
In a letter, US representatives said that while the selection of the prime minister is an Iraqi decision, “the United States will make its own sovereign decisions regarding the next government in line with American interests.”
The United States wields key leverage over Iraq as the country’s oil export revenue is largely held at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, in an arrangement reached after the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Chief among US demands is that Iraq prevent a resurgence of Shiite armed groups backed by Iran. Sudani, who took office in 2022, has won US confidence through his delicate efforts to curb violence by the groups.
Maliki initially took office in 2006 with support of the United States as he strongly backed US military efforts against Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni militants.
But the United States eventually soured on Maliki, believing he pushed an excessively sectarian agenda that helped give rise to the Islamic State extremist movement.
Iraq’s parliament meets Tuesday to elect a new president, who holds a largely ceremonial role but will appoint a prime minister.
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