BERLIN, November 17./TASS/. The German government does not recognize the legitimacy of Alexander Lukashenko as president of Belarus, but sees talks with him as important in order to render humanitarian assistance to migrants, government Spokesman Steffen Seibert told a briefing on Wednesday.
"In order to improve this alarming humanitarian situation for thousands of people, it makes sense to speak with those in Minsk who have the possibility to change the situation even if we are talking about the ruler, whose legitimacy is not recognized by Germany and other European countries," Steffen Seibert said.
"That is why, the chancellor had a phone call with Lukashenko - in order to find humanitarian ways to ensure, for example, access for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees," he stressed, noting that migrants were already receiving initial aid at the site.
"She held this conversation in close coordination with the European Commission and after getting information from major partners in the region," the spokesman went on to say. He once again blamed Minsk for the situation and stressed that Germany supported the position of the European Union on the migrant crisis and tighter sanctions on Belarus.
On Monday, Lukashenko and Merkel had a 50-minute-long telephone conversation, discussing ways to settle the migrant crisis. In particular, they looked into the necessity of humanitarian aid to the migrants amassed on the border of Belarus with EU countries and agreed to continue contacts on the issue.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the migrant crisis in separate conversations with Lukashenko and Merkel. Merkel confirmed later that she had asked Putin to influence Lukashenko. The Russian leader stressed the importance of contacts between EU countries and Belarus to settle the problem.
The migrant crisis on the Belarusian border with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland where migrants have been flocking since the beginning of the year, sharply aggravated on November 8. Several thousand people approached the Polish border from Belarus and refused to leave the area. EU countries have accused Minsk of the intentional escalation of the crisis and have called for sanctions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that the Western countries themselves were to blame for the situation since people were fleeing the war in their homelands because of the West’s actions.