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Belavia refutes allegations that it brings illegal migrants to Minsk via Russia

According to Belavia Director General Igor Cherginets, one passenger with the Iraqi passport travelled from Moscow to Minsk on November 15 and he was the holder of a diplomatic passport

MINSK, November 15. /TASS/. Belarus’ Belavia air company has refuted allegations that refugees use its flights to reach Minsk via Russia.

"Today, Belavia performs five flights to Minsk from two Moscow’s airports - Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo," BelTA agency quoted Belavia Director General Igor Cherginets as saying. "I checked thoroughly all of them: there were only about ten passengers with passports other than Russian and Belarusian. They included Kazakhstan’s, Kyrgyzstan’s, and Uzbekistan’s nationals. There was only one passenger with the Iraqi passport and he was the holder of a diplomatic passport."

So, in his words, "allegations that illegal migrants arrive in Minsk by air via Moscow are not true."

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda claimed earlier that migrants from the Middle East arrive in Belarus via Moscow.

The migration crisis at Belarus’ border with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia deteriorated dramatically on November 8, when several thousand migrants approached the Polish border and have been staying in the border area ever since. From time to time they try to break through the fences and cross into Poland, but are stopped by Polish law enforcers.

EU countries accuse Minsk of the deliberate escalation of the crisis and call for more sanctions against Belarus. Meanwhile, Lukashenko said that the blame for this situation rests on Western countries because people are fleeing their countries gripped by hostilities provoked by their actions.