Status: 11/17/2021 5:56 p.m.
The situation of migrants on the border with Belarus remains dire. Now Chancellor Merkel has spoken to the ruler Lukashenko again – although an initial conversation between the two of them was sharply criticized by Poland.
In the crisis surrounding migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke again on the phone with the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert and the Presidential Office of Belarus agreed on this.
Merkel emphasized the need for humanitarian care and return opportunities for those affected to take place in cooperation with the United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said Seibert. In addition, it should work with the EU Commission. The Belarusian side expressed itself similarly.
According to information from the dpa news agency, Merkel also said at the meeting of the Union parliamentary group in Berlin that the talks were about humanitarian aid in the region. Merkel made it clear that it was not a bilateral problem between Germany and Belarus. It is about Belarus and the European Union.
Criticism after the first conversation
It was only on Monday that Merkel and Lukashenko had their first phone call, which met with sharp criticism in Poland. Poland’s government spokesman Piotr Müller said the conversation was “not a good step”. It was “in a way” the acceptance of Lukashenko’s choice. President Andrzej Duda also underlined that his country will not accept any agreements that are made without his participation.
The conversation was the Chancellor’s first with Lukashenko since the controversial presidential election in Belarus on August 9 last year. The EU no longer recognizes Lukashenko as president. The background to this is massive allegations of fraud in the election and the actions of the Belarusian security forces against peaceful demonstrators and civil society.
“Telephone call closely coordinated with the EU”
The German government defended Merkel’s decision against criticism from Poland. “She made this phone call in close coordination with the European Commission and, after informing important partners in advance, also in the region,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert.
The situation of migrants at the border is dramatic. “In order to improve this worrying humanitarian situation for thousands of people, it makes sense to speak to those who have the opportunity in Minsk to change this situation – even when it comes to a ruler whose legitimacy is Germany like all other Europeans Member states do not recognize. ” The Chancellor had represented well-known European positions in the conversation.
Thousands of migrants have been stranded on the Belarusian-Polish border for days. The EU accuses Lukashenko of organizing migrants from crisis regions to the EU’s external border in order to put pressure on them.
Merkels is on the phone again with Lukashenko – Seehofer in Poland
Nina Amin, ARD Berlin, November 17, 2021 6:26 p.m.