EU Says No to Negotiations With Belarus’ Lukashenko After He Offers Talks

Tensions are high over the migrant crisis at Belarus' borders

EU said it wouldn’t negotiate with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko over the migrant crisis on Belarus’ borders with Poland and some Baltic states that has raised tensions in the region.

Lukashenko offered to negotiate with the EU over the crisis in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, but the idea was quickly shot down by the EU.

“There is no question of negotiating with the Lukashenko regime,” European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters on Thursday, making it clear that the EU is not interested in diplomacy.

Since the August 2020 election in Belarus, which the US and EU claimed was fraudulent, the EU hasn’t recognized Lukashenko as president and has been ramping up the pressure on the country with sanctions.

Now the EU claims Belarus is sending migrants from war-torn countries in the Middle East to its borders as retaliation for sanctions, but Minsk denies that it is weaponizing the migrants.

Belarus’ ally Russia has also been accused of sending migrants to Belarus’ borders, which Moscow strongly denies. The situation is starting to be resolved, as Belarus has moved some migrants from camps at the border to a heated shelter, and hundreds of Iraqi migrants that were in the country have flown back to Iraq.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.