EU announces aid supplies for migrants in Belarus

The European Union has announced the delivery of aid to refugees and migrants stranded in Belarus. Today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that in the first step, food, blankets and other goods worth 700,000 euros will be transported to the border with Poland. “We are ready to do more,” she added.

Merkel’s invitation to Lukashenko

Meanwhile, the German government became increasingly involved in the conflict. Chancellor Angela Merkel called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for the second time in three days.

According to Merkel’s spokesperson, she has asked Lukashenko to allow the European Union and the United Nations to help. For the affected people, it is about humanitarian supplies and the chances of returning to their countries of origin. The outgoing chancellor also made a phone call to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and assured him of his solidarity with him.

According to the German Interior Ministry, the situation at the German-Polish border has calmed down recently. A ministry spokesman said the number of people arriving in Brandenburg had decreased in the past few days. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is heading to Warsaw for talks with the Polish government on the Belarus crisis.

First repatriations

The Russian Information Agency, quoting the Iraqi ambassador in Moscow, reported that the people from Iraq are scheduled to be transferred tomorrow to their homeland on the first flight from Belarus. According to the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin, 170 Iraqis at the Belarusian-Polish border have registered “quick returns”.