US condemns Belarus for ‘orchestrating’ migrant flows to Europe

The US State Department on Monday called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately halt their “campaign of orchestrating and coercing irregular migration flows” across the country’s borders.

“The United States strongly condemns the Lukashenka regime’s political exploitation and coercion of vulnerable people, and the regime’s callous and inhumane facilitation of irregular migration flows across its borders,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

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“As long as the regime in Belarus refuses to respect its international obligations and commitments, undermines the peace and security of Europe….we will continue to pressure Lukashenka and will not lessen our calls for accountability,” Price also said.

“The United States will continue to stand by Poland, and all of our partners in Europe, who have been threatened by Belarus’s unacceptable actions,” he told reporters.

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EU’s von der Leyen urges new sanctions on Belarus after ‘hybrid attack’ on Polish border

European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen has called for EU member states to approve new sanctions against Belarus, which she said was responsible for a “hybrid attack” on the Polish border using migrants.

She added that she had spoken to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš “to express the EU’s solidarity and discuss with them the measures the EU can take to support them in their efforts to deal with this crisis.”

“I am calling on Member States to finally approve the extended sanctions regime on the Belarusian authorities responsible for this hybrid attack,” von der Leyen said.