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Tensions between Belarus and the West are growing
The situation on the border between Belarus and Poland remains dire. A video shared Thursday by the Polish Ministry of Defense on its Twitter page shows migrants and Belarusian border guards facing each other. Since Monday, the refugees have been waiting in makeshift camps in icy temperatures. The Polish authorities reported new attempts to forcefully cross the border into Poland. Polish border guards had been pelted with stones. Foreign Secretary Pawel Jablonski described the current crisis as the greatest threat to his country in the past 30 years. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are also affected. They warn of a “serious threat to European security”. The EU accuses the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of organizing targeted illegal border crossings by migrants in retaliation for sanctions against his country. SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz found clear words on Thursday: “Lukashenko is engaging in an inhuman power game with human lives. That must and will have consequences. First: We must do everything to ensure the humanitarian care of those affected. Second: We must be very tough take action against the Lukashenke regime. We are currently working intensively on a European response. And thirdly: We are firmly on the side of the affected EU member states. This is especially true of Poland, of course. ” The EU is preparing a fifth round of punitive measures against Belarus. According to diplomatic circles, the EU foreign ministers could give the green light for this at their meeting on Monday in Brussels. In view of the planned new EU sanctions, Belarus is threatened with sharp retaliation. Lukashenko, supported by Russia, is now talking about stopping gas supplies to the Europeans. An interruption in supply would be particularly tricky for the European gas market at the moment, as gas prices had risen to record levels in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received the Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanowkaja in Bellevue Palace. Tichanovskaya ran against Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election; according to the opinion of the Belarusian opposition, she won the vote. Tichanowskaja now lives in exile in Lithuania. She also sees Lukashenko as the culprit for the current crisis.
In view of the planned new EU sanctions, Belarus is threatened with sharp retaliation.