Germany's Maas Calls Lukashenko Smuggler Chief As EU Mulls More Sanctions

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of running a human trafficking ring and threatened further sanctions on Belarusian air carriers

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2021) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of running a human trafficking ring and threatened further sanctions on Belarusian air carriers.

"Lukashenko is no less than chief of a state-run smuggling gang, and we will no longer watch idly as airlines make money by flying migrants to Germany and other European countries," he told reporters in Luxembourg.

Maas said ahead of an EU foreign ministers' meeting that air carriers would be punished for smuggling migrants to the EU's doorstep. The EU has already banned Belarusian carriers from flying over its airspace or landing at its airports.

"We have to talk about consequences for these airlines and sanctions that will make it clear that we are no longer ready to accept this behavior," the German diplomat said.

EU nations bordering Belarus raised alarm in summer over rising numbers of illegal border crossings. They accuse Belarus of flying would-be migrants to Minsk from where they are marched to the EU frontier. The EU claims that Lukashenko is trying to get back at it for economic sanctions, but the president denies it.