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dpa
Berlin
Chancellor Angela Merkel assured Poland of Germany’s support in the crisis along its border with Belarus while holding talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Berlin on Thursday.
Merkel said after meeting Morawiecki: “We are of the same opinion with regard to the nature of the crisis that we are in and with regard to the question of how it is to be resolved.” The German chancellor, who is set to leave office early next month, defended her decision to speak by phone to Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko in the face of opposition from Poland and other Eastern European countries.
She described Lukashenko as the point of contact when it came to humanitarian provision for the thousands of refugees that were encamped on the border in freezing conditions.
Merkel assured Poland of Germany’s “full solidarity.” If there was no progress in the crisis, further sanctions targeting Lukashenko would have to be considered, she said.
“We have to be united among us Europeans,” she said, while insisting that the door to dialogue had to remain open.
Morawiecki emphasized that Poland was protecting the European Union’s external border. “In this connection, we are also defending Germany from a large wave of refugees, as Lukashenko has tried to test this border,” he said.
Poland, supported by Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, had at the same time ensured by diplomatic means that countries in the Middle East had halted flights carrying refugees to Belarus, he said.
The EU blames Lukashenko for the massing of huge crowds of migrants on its external borders in recent weeks.
Lukashenko has repeatedly stressed that in retaliation for EU sanctions against Belarus in the wake of the disputed 2020 presidential election, he will no longer stop anyone crossing Belarusian territory to reach the bloc.
On Thursday, the Polish border guard said there were at least 375 attempts by migrants the previous day to breach the border from the Belarusian side and illegally enter the EU.
Near the village of Czeremsza, a group of 232 people damaged the border fence and advanced several metres into Polish territory, a spokeswoman for the agency said. Security forces brought the group back, she added.
Five migrants were hospitalized for exhaustion.
Police said three suspected smugglers were arrested, including two Ukrainians and a Swedish national of Syrian origin. They had been travelling with a total of 14 migrants.
Since Poland does not allow journalists into the border area, the information cannot be independently verified.
On the Belarusian side, about 2,000 people are said to be holding out near the border in an emergency shelter, hoping to get into the EU and ultimately reach Germany.
Berlin
Chancellor Angela Merkel assured Poland of Germany’s support in the crisis along its border with Belarus while holding talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Berlin on Thursday.
Merkel said after meeting Morawiecki: “We are of the same opinion with regard to the nature of the crisis that we are in and with regard to the question of how it is to be resolved.” The German chancellor, who is set to leave office early next month, defended her decision to speak by phone to Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko in the face of opposition from Poland and other Eastern European countries.
She described Lukashenko as the point of contact when it came to humanitarian provision for the thousands of refugees that were encamped on the border in freezing conditions.
Merkel assured Poland of Germany’s “full solidarity.” If there was no progress in the crisis, further sanctions targeting Lukashenko would have to be considered, she said.
“We have to be united among us Europeans,” she said, while insisting that the door to dialogue had to remain open.
Morawiecki emphasized that Poland was protecting the European Union’s external border. “In this connection, we are also defending Germany from a large wave of refugees, as Lukashenko has tried to test this border,” he said.
Poland, supported by Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, had at the same time ensured by diplomatic means that countries in the Middle East had halted flights carrying refugees to Belarus, he said.
The EU blames Lukashenko for the massing of huge crowds of migrants on its external borders in recent weeks.
Lukashenko has repeatedly stressed that in retaliation for EU sanctions against Belarus in the wake of the disputed 2020 presidential election, he will no longer stop anyone crossing Belarusian territory to reach the bloc.
On Thursday, the Polish border guard said there were at least 375 attempts by migrants the previous day to breach the border from the Belarusian side and illegally enter the EU.
Near the village of Czeremsza, a group of 232 people damaged the border fence and advanced several metres into Polish territory, a spokeswoman for the agency said. Security forces brought the group back, she added.
Five migrants were hospitalized for exhaustion.
Police said three suspected smugglers were arrested, including two Ukrainians and a Swedish national of Syrian origin. They had been travelling with a total of 14 migrants.
Since Poland does not allow journalists into the border area, the information cannot be independently verified.
On the Belarusian side, about 2,000 people are said to be holding out near the border in an emergency shelter, hoping to get into the EU and ultimately reach Germany.
