Belarus

Belarus jails opposition leader’s husband for 18 years

Syarhei Tsikhanouski, the husband of Belarus's opposition leader, was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 years in jail for organising mass unrest and inciting social hatred, the official Belta news agency reported.…

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Belarus’ Lukashenko repeats threat to block gas transit to Europe

MOSCOW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko has again warned that Minsk could suspend the transit of gas across its territory to Europe in response to new Western…

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Legal standards must be respected in Belarus migrant crisis, Germany says

BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Legal standards must be respected at the Belarus border, Germany said on Thursday, as EU interior ministers met to discuss curbing some migrants' rights to…

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UPDATED: Britain and Czech Republic sending troops to Poland-Belarus border

Britain will send 140 military engineers to Poland this month to provide support at its border with Belarus, the Ministry of Defence said, in response to what it termed pressures…

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On Polish-Belarus border, migrant crossings decrease but tension remains

Fewer migrants are trying to cross the frontier between Poland and Belarus, but the Polish Border Guard told journalists visiting the previously off-limits border zone on Monday that it still…

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Minsk to target EU, UK air carriers after sanctions on Belarusian air industry

MOSCOW, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Monday said Minsk would retaliate to sanctions on its aviation industry with similar measures against air carriers from the European…

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Belarus laments repeated violations of airspace by Ukrainian aircraft

The Belarusian defence ministry said it had summoned Ukraine's military attaché to protest against what it called repeated violations of Belarus' airspace by Ukrainian aircraft. Relations between the two countries…

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Belarus migrant crisis disrupts goods supplies to Russia

MOSCOW, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The migrant crisis on the Belarus-Polish border has caused logistics problems for Russian food producers, who are suffering losses and risk having to temporarily stop…

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EU imposes new sanctions on Belarus in coordination with U.S., Britain

The European Union imposed sanctions on state-owned Belarusian airline Belavia on Thursday, accusing the company of flying in migrants as a tactic to destabilise European states, in a new round…

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EU seeks to ease rules for Poland, Baltics in migration standoff with Belarus

BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The European Union executive on Wednesday will propose that Poland and its two Baltic neighbours handle migrants the West accuses Belarus of pushing to their…

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Belarus’ Lukashenko ready to halt Russian energy flows if Poland closes border

MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he was ready to suspend Russian energy flows if Poland closes its border with Belarus, Russia's RIA news agency reported…

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Belarus announces military drills with Russia near Ukraine border

Belarus announced joint military drills with close ally Russia on its southern border with Ukraine and accused the NATO military alliance of building up offensive capabilities near its borders. U.S.,…

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Lithuania says Belarus will keep testing West, urges NATO rethink

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Sunday that the NATO military alliance needed to adjust its stance towards Belarus, whose military, he said, was becoming more integrated with Russian armed…

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Polish prime minister criticizes Merkel for talking with Lukashenko

Berlin (dpa) - Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized Germany's outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel for talking with Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, amid a growing migrant crisis on Europe's border that…

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UPDATED: Lukashenko tells migrants at Belarus-Poland border he won’t make them go home

BRUZGI, Belarus/MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko told migrants stranded at the border with Poland on Friday that his country would help them to return home if…

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Two planes bring more migrants back to Iraq from Belarus

ERBIL, Iraq, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Two flights brought hundreds of Iraqis who had sought to enter the European Union back to Iraq from Belarus on Friday, as more migrants…

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Group of around 200 migrants try to cross Polish-Belarus border

WARSAW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A group of around 200 migrants tried to break through the fence on the Polish-Belarus border on Wednesday evening, the Border Guard said on Thursday,…

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Polish Border Guard reports more incidents at Belarus frontier

WARSAW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Migrants tried to force their way through the fence on the Poland-Belarus border in at least two locations on Tuesday night, the Polish Border Guard…

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EU vows unity on Belarus as Poland flags more border incidents

Thousands of people stranded on the European Union's eastern border represent an attempt by Belarus to destabilize the bloc, rather than a migrant crisis, and as such call for a…

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Belarus says it is sending back some migrants – report

Belarus's interior ministry said on Tuesday 118 migrants had left the country a day earlier and more would depart on Tuesday, Russia's TASS news agency reported. The European Union accuses Belarus of flying…

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Belarus says it does not want confrontation, wants EU to take migrants

Belarus does not want confrontation with Poland but it does want an answer from the European Union on whether the bloc will accept 2,000 stranded migrants, President Alexander Lukashenko was…

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Poland says Belarus border crisis may be prelude to “something worse”

WARSAW/VILNIUS(Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned on Sunday that the migrant crisis on the Belarus border may be a prelude to "something much worse", and Poland's border guard…

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Poland says Belarus keeps bringing migrants to its border

WARSAW/VILNIUS (Reuters) - Poland accused Belarus on Sunday of continuing to ferry migrants to its border, despite clearing camps close to the frontier earlier this week, as the country's prime…

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UPDATED: Poland reports fewer attempts to cross its border with Belarus

WARSAW/BIALYSTOK, Poland, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The number of migrants trying to force their way into Poland from Belarus fell again on Friday after an apparent change in tack by…

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Poland says Belarus trucks migrants back to the frontier despite clearing camps

WARSAW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Poland accused Belarus on Friday of trucking hundreds of migrants back to the border and pushing them to attempt to cross illegally, only hours after…

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Belarus clears migrant camps at EU border, but crisis not yet over

BRUZGI, Belarus, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Belarus authorities on Thursday cleared the main camps where migrants had huddled at the border with Poland, in a change of tack that could…

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EBRD pushes to halt Belarus private sector investments – source

The management of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is pushing to halt private sector investments in Belarus due to the difficult backdrop in the country, a source…

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UPDATED: Hope for border crisis easing as Iraqis fly back home from Belarus

BRUZGI, Belarus, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqis who had camped for weeks at Belarus's freezing borders with the EU checked in for a flight back to Iraq on…

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Lebanon imposes curbs on traveling to Belarus

Lebanon instructed airlines to limit passengers traveling to Belarus to those having visas, residency permits or Belarusian citizenship, according to a statement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation seen…

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EU allocates €700,000 in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable people stranded at Belarus border

Responding immediately to an appeal, the European Commission has allocated €200,000 in humanitarian funding to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The funding is part…

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Poland faces months of migration pressure from Belarus

BRUSSELS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The crisis on Poland's border with Belarus will last months, the Polish defence minister said on Wednesday, as several thousand migrants remained stranded on the…

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VIDEO: Poland turns water cannon on rock-throwing migrants at Belarus border

Polish security forces turned water cannon on migrants who threw rocks across the Belarusian border, where thousands have gathered in a chaotic attempt to reach the European Union, video footage shared by authorities…

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Airlines to face sanctions over Belarus flights – EU’s von der Leyen

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union will act with further sanctions, including against airlines, to tackle Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's "perfidious" treatment of migrants, European Commission President Ursula von der…

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EU chief diplomat tells Belarus not to use people as weapons

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei discussed a migrant crisis on the Polish border and European sanctions against Minsk…

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Polish PM calls for ‘concrete steps’ from NATO amid Belarus border crisis

WARSAW, Nov 14 (Reuters) - NATO must take "concrete steps" to resolve the migrant crisis on the Belarus border, the Polish prime minister was quoted as saying on Sunday, adding…

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EU to broaden Belarus sanctions on Monday – Borrell

PARIS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - EU foreign ministers will widen sanctions on Belarus on Monday to include airlines and travel agencies thought to involved in bringing migrants to the bloc's…

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UPDATED: Polish police say group of 50 migrants broke through Belarus border

A group of about 50 migrants broke through defences on the border with Belarus and entered Poland near the village of Starzyna, police said on Sunday, as the situation on…

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Putin says any Belarusian move to cut gas flows risks hitting ties

MOSCOW, Nov 13 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Belarus had not consulted him before raising the possibility of cutting Russian natural gas flows to Europe, adding…

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Putin says West, not Belarus, root cause of migrant crisis on border

MOSCOW, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Western countries, rather than Belarus, were ultimately responsible for a migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border, pointing…

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Russia, Western nations row at U.N. over Belarus migrant crisis

Russia traded barbs with Western members of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday over a crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, with Russia's deputy U.N. envoy suggesting his…

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Neighbours of Belarus say migrant crisis risks military clash

WARSAW, Poland, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Countries bordering Belarus expressed concern on Thursday that a crisis over growing numbers of migrants trying to break through its frontiers into the European…

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Ukraine to hold drills on Belarus border to guard against migrant incursions

KYIV, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Ukrainian border guards, police and the national guard will hold drills on the border with Belarus on Thursday aiming to protect the country from possible…

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EU eyes blacklisting airlines over migrant flights, not intimidated by gas threats

BRUSSELS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The European Union will seek to blacklist airlines that transport to Belarus migrants who later attempt to cross the EU border and will coordinate its…

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EU pressure on migrants’ countries could work better than new Belarus sanctions -official

Pressure on countries from which migrants fly to Belarus in hope of entering the European Union, and on airlines that take them, could do more to end the migration crisis…

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UPDATED: Belarus leader floats idea of cutting gas to Europe in migrant standoff

MOSCOW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday raised the possibility he could shut down the transit of natural gas to Europe via Belarus in retaliation against…

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Russian nuclear-capable bombers rehearse bombing runs in Belarus training exercise

MOSCOW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Two Russian Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers rehearsed bombing runs in a training exercise in Belarus on Thursday amid tensions over a migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus…

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UPDATED: Poland reports violent clashes overnight as migrants attempt new border breach

WARSAW, Poland, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Migrants stranded inside Belarus threw rocks and branches at Polish border guards and used logs to try to break down a razor wire fence…

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EU’s von der Leyen says sanctions against Belarus to be widened

The European Union will widen sanctions against Belarus next week, European Commision President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden that touched…

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Minsk’s standoff with EU and Belarus border crisis

Thousands of migrants have attempted to cross illegally into the European Union from Belarus since the summer in an escalation of a year-long row between Brussels and Minsk. Poland and…

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EU says its funding should not be used for barbed wire, fences

BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday that EU funding could be used to finance border infrastructure but should not be used to put up fences…

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Russia blames EU for looming migrant ‘catastrophe’, sends bombers to overfly Belarus

MOSCOW, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Russia blamed the European Union on Wednesday for the migrant crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, accusing it of trying to "strangle" Belarus…

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Merkel asks Putin to press Belarus over “instrumentalisation of migrants”

BERLIN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone that Belarus's "instrumentalisation of migrants" was inhumane and unacceptable and asked him to press…

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UPDATED – Migrants try to breach Polish border as EU readies Belarus sanctions

SUPRASL, Poland, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Migrants trapped in Belarus made multiple attempts to force their way into Poland overnight, Warsaw said on Wednesday, announcing that it had reinforced the…

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EU monitors airline travel to Belarus in migrant crisis

The European Union is monitoring flights to Belarus from two dozen countries in an attempt to prevent more migrants being encouraged to travel to the bloc’s border by the government…

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Lithuania border, camps in state of emergency over migrants from Belarus

Lithuania's parliament on Tuesday declared a state of emergency at the country's border with Belarus and at camps hosting migrants who arrived from there, a tally of votes showed. The…

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EU close to deal on new round of Belarus sanctions

The European Union is close to imposing more sanctions on Belarus, targeting some 30 individuals and entities including the foreign minister and Belarusian airline Belavia, with approval as early as…

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EU accuses Belarus of ‘gangster’ antics as migrants shiver at Polish border

Hundreds of migrants shivered in freezing temperatures and huddled round campfires on the Belarusian border with Poland on Tuesday in front of razor wire fences and lines of Polish border guards…

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