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Refugee crisis in Europe

Russian security chief slams transit of migrants to EU through Belarus as cynical business

The security chief pointed out that migrants "flew to Belarus not via Belavia but mainly on charter flights"

MOSCOW, November 23. / TASS /. The transit of migrants through Belarus to Europe has become a profitable and rather cynical business, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev told the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.

"The transit [of migrants] through Belarus has become a profitable and extremely cynical business," the Russian security chief said. "Searching for a better life, people are investing very much in intermediary services, purchasing air tickets and hiring vehicles," Patrushev noted.

The security chief pointed out that migrants "flew to Belarus not via Belavia but mainly on charter flights." "Their final destination is Europe, where they mostly go to acquaintances and relatives, who have emigrated earlier," Patrushev said.

Furthermore, the security chief stated that this business was functioning very well in the Polish border zone, where "migrants who had broken through the Belarusian-Polish frontier were transported to Germany for a certain amount of money." He mentioned that this country remained the center of attention of refugees since they were paid 4-5 times more than one could earn in their homeland. "According to the latest data, 350,000 Kurds, 4 mln Turks and other immigrants from the Middle East live in [Germany] today. Many Kurds have formed groups that organize and ensure the transit of migrants to Europe," the head of the security council said.

The migrant crisis on the border of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, where migrants have rushed since the beginning of the year, sharply escalated on November 8. Several thousand people came from the Belarusian side to the Polish border and did not leave the border zone. Some of them tried to enter Poland by breaking the barbed wire fence. EU countries accuse Minsk of deliberately escalating the crisis and call for the imposition of sanctions. Meanwhile, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko stated that the Western countries themselves were to blame for this situation, because of their actions people were fleeing the war.

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