Turkey is reacting to the EU’s sanctions threats: In response to pressure from Brussels, Ankara will no longer allow citizens of several Arab countries to fly to Belarus from its territory. The civil aviation authority of Turkey announced on Friday that people with Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni passports are no longer allowed to buy tickets and board until further notice. The EU had previously threatened sanctions against airlines that bring migrants to the ex-Soviet republic with the intention of illegally entering the EU.
According to an EU official, one-way tickets for flights from Turkey to Minsk will no longer be sold. The Belarusian national airline “Belavia” will also no longer be able to use the Middle East network of the Turkish airline “Turkish” to fly travelers via Istanbul to the Belarusian capital Minsk, it said.
The airline came under fire after media reports that Turkey was targeting migrants to Belarus with the help of Turkish Airlines. The Polish government and the EU accuse dictator Alexander Lukashenko of allowing migrants to be brought into the country in order to then smuggle them into the EU.
Iraq revokes consul’s license
Turkish Airlines would now have threatened EU sanctions if they had not participated in the crackdown on illegal migration. For example, flights to the EU could have been banned.
In the meantime, the Iraqi government has also intervened in the conflict: According to a report by the ARD Tagesschau, the Belarusian honorary consul in Baghdad has had its license withdrawn. This means that visas for Belarus can no longer be issued in the Iraqi capital. “We want to protect Iraqi citizens from criminal traffickers,” said the foreign ministry spokesman in Baghdad.
In August, the Iraqi government stopped direct flights from the Mesopotamia to Belarus under pressure from the EU. Nevertheless, according to Iraqi information, there are currently 600 citizens in the former Soviet republic. In addition, around 8,000 refugees from the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq would be stuck in the border area between Poland and Belarus.
New sanctions against Belarus
On Monday the EU foreign ministers will tighten the sanctions against the Lukashenko regime. According to the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD), the sanctions will be extended to people “who directly or indirectly supported the smuggling”. “All airlines need to know who is guilty of complicity in criminal smuggling, must expect consequences, including sanctions for overflight rights or landing permits,” said Maas.
Source From: Nachrichten
