Belarus will not protect Europe, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told journalists commenting on the unresolved migration issue on the border with the European Union, Report informs via BelTA.
“Belarus is not their destination. As far as migrants are concerned, the whole thing was not started by us. They [the European Union] refused to cooperate with us - to build these facilities, to provide funding and so on. They went as far as to impose sanctions. And then I said: have you taken leave of your senses? You have imposed sanctions against me, and you expect me to protect you from migrants? Well, now it will be your job to catch them. Merkel invited them back in the day. They remember this. We are not to blame for this influx of migrants. The number of migrants going through Belarus would be smaller if not for the war in Ukraine. Before the war, they crossed over from Ukraine into Europe paying big money for that. Now only this window remains [through Belarus]. We do not take money from them. But taking into consideration Europe's policy on Belarus, we will not go to extraordinary lengths trying to protect Europe,” Lukashenko said.