Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has weaponized migration and stands poised to do the same with energy. Will Europe’s leaders finally get serious about slapping him down?
Thousands of migrants, largely from the Middle East, are stranded in dire and freezing conditions on Belarus’ border with Poland, which won’t let them in, even if they intend to spread to the rest of the European Union.
And Belarus won’t take them, either — though it encouraged them to come. In recent months, it loosened its visa requirements and increased flights by state-owned airline Belavia from the Middle East.
More, The New York Times reports that Belarusian security forces are helping migrants move from the capital to the frontiers of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania — even handing out wire cutters and axes to cut through border fences.
Why? Lukashenko seems to be trying to create a refugee crisis so that the EU will reward him for ending it: He wants the end of sanctions imposed over the fraudulent election that gave him a sixth term.
So far, Europe isn’t caving: The EU just announced more sanctions against Belarus over this outrage. But Lukashenko (surely with support from his patron, Russia’s Vladimir Putin) is threatening to cut off Europe’s gas supply via the Yamal-Europe pipeline from Russia.
