In a TV interview on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko against cutting gas supply to the European Union (EU), asserting that it would be a breach of its contract with Russia. He also denied Russia’s involvement in orchestrating a migrant crisis on the European border.
Putin said, “Of course, in theory, Lukashenko, as President of a transit country, could order our supplies to be cut to Europe. But this would mean a breach of our gas transit contract, and I hope this will not happen. There’s nothing good in this, and I will, of course, talk to him about this subject. Perhaps he said that in a fit of temper.”
A third of Europe’s gas supply comes from Russia and some via a Russian-owned gas pipeline that passes through Belarus.
Putin also refuted allegations of Russia’s involvement in the migration crisis and instead shifted the blame to the West’s policies in the Middle East. “We should not forget where these crises associated with migrants came from...Western countries themselves, including European countries,” he said.
The Russian President also accused Poland’s border forces of beating and firing rounds above the migrants’ heads and urged European leaders to communicate with Lukashenko to resolve the crisis. However, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has advised the European leaders to avoid talks with Lukashenko.
Belarus faces a new set of sanctions as thousands of migrants, mainly from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, camp at the Poland-Belarus border in freezing conditions with the aim of crossing into the EU. Poland has deployed thousands of troops to its border and last week accused Belarusian soldiers of attempting to cut through the border fence to pave the way for migrants.
Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said, “We are dealing with an attack on the entire European Union using an artificially created migration crisis. It is about creating an East European migration route. Everyone knows that—both in Europe and in the USA.”
The bloc has accused the Belarusian regime of intentionally orchestrating the migration crisis to retaliate against the sanctions imposed over electoral fraud and human rights abuses. In fact, just last week, the EU and the United States (US) agreed to impose sanctions on Belarusian airline Belavia for facilitating human trafficking and on at least 30 Belarusian individuals for weaponising migrants. These new sanctions could be introduced starting today. In the face of these threats, Lukashenko threatened to cut energy supply to the bloc amid soaring energy prices.
Meanwhile, to aid Europe’s response to the migration crisis, Turkey’s national airline said it would restrict the sale of one-way tickets to Minsk for citizens of Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Furthermore, Iraq said it would organise repatriation flights for its citizens from Belarus.
Belarus has denied all allegations and claimed that the migrants are using their right to seek asylum anywhere. Belarusian authorities said they are providing migrants with heaters and tents. Furthermore, on Friday, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said the country is doing everything possible to stem the flow of migrants. At the same time, Belarusian airline Belavia has said it will not allow Iraqi, Syrian, and Yemeni citizens to board flights from Turkey to Belarus, as requested by Turkish authorities.
Putin Warns Belarus Over EU Gas Threat, Denies Any Russian Involvement in Border Crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied any involvement in the migration crisis at the Poland-Belarus border and warned his Belarusian counterpart against cutting gas supply to the European Union.
November 15, 2021
Russia's President Vladimir Putin IMAGE SOURCE: AP NEWS