(AFP) Belarus on Thursday said there were around 7,000 migrants in the ex-Soviet country, with around 2,000 of them camped on the border with EU member Poland.
Thousands of mainly Middle Eastern migrants are camped around the border in what the West says is revenge for sanctions slapped on Belarusian strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime after it suppressed protests last year.
“The European Union is creating a humanitarian corridor for 2,000 refugees who are in the camp. We are taking on the responsibility of — as much as it is possible and if they wish — returning the 5,000 others to their homes,” Lukashenko’s spokeswoman Natalya Eismont said.
She said German Chancellor Angela Merkel would negotiate with the EU on creating the humanitarian corridor to Germany.
