At a meeting in Brussels to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border, EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to expand sanctions on Belarus, which is believed to have transported the migrants to the border.
Ahead of the meeting on Monday morning, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) said that pressure on Belarus needs to increase.
According to Poland, there were up to 4,000 people — many of whom are Kurds from Iraq — left stranded in freezing forests on its border, Reuters reported on Monday afternoon. The European Union has accused Minsk of prompting migrants to cross the Belarusian border into EU states, in retaliation for sanctions over human rights abuses.
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"It is clear that the European Union must react together to the threat posed by Belarus against its neighbours Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. What has happened is a shared problem," Haavisto said.
In a previously unannounced military drill, Latvia deployed around 3,000 troops near its border with Belarus over the weekend, according to Reuters.
While the ministers have agreed to expand sanctions against Belarus, the exact measures have not yet been specified.
Yle correspondent: Tense but not dangerous
Reporting from the Belarus border on Monday afternoon, Yle's Moscow correspondent, Erkka Mikkonen, said the situation was tense but not dangerous.
Mikkonen said he interviewed a group of Kurdish individuals who did not want their names or identities to be revealed.
One of the interviewees said that Belarusian soldiers had forced migrants towards the Polish border crossing point, while another said he came to the border on his own will. One of the migrants said that the Belarusian troops promised them weapons that would help them penetrate the Polish border, according to Mikkonen.
Meanwhile, Mikkonen said that among the thousands of demonstrating migrants at the border were families with children, even right by the border crossing point, where Polish troops were equipped with water cannon gear. Some of the migrants had tents while others slept on the asphalt in sleeping bags, he said.
Haavisto praises Turkey, Iraq
Ahead of the meeting the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said the sanctions will target airlines and travel agencies involved "in this illegal push of migrants."
On Monday morning Haavisto said that he thought it was good news that Iraq had offered to organise return flights for Iraqi nationals who want to voluntarily return from Belarus.
Haavisto also said he was thankful to Turkey for banning Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni citizens from boarding flights headed to Belarus.
"I would like to pay tribute to the responsible behaviour of Iraq and Turkey. It is clear to them their airlines and routes are being used to create hybrid pressure on the European Union," Haavisto said on Monday morning.
The EU ministers are also discussing relations with its eastern neighbours, including Ukraine.
Haavisto said Ukraine is very concerned about its economy and security.
"Ukraine has raised concerns about the growing number of military movements on the Russian side," Haavisto said.
Reuters reported that Lithuania and Latvia's presidents said their countries plan to join Poland if it decides to request emergency consultation from Nato under Article 4 of the military alliance's governing treaty
Under Article 4, allies can request consultations when their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
The difficult situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was also scheduled to be discussed at the Brussels meeting. Fears of a new conflict in the country have arisen in recent weeks as the country descended into its worst political crisis since the end of the war in the 1990s.
This article was updated with comments and photo from Yle's Moscow correspondent in Belarus at 17:56 on 15 November 2021.