Lukashenko uses immigrants to lift sanctions from his country

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko may have had phone talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but Europe remains united against him, while migrants camped in the woods for another night in sub-zero temperatures, Estonian Foreign Minister Eva Maria Lemets revealed. On Tuesday, on an evening news program, he laid out the gist of what Alexander Lukashenko demanded of Merkel in their first call more than a year ago.

She said he had asked Merkel to "stop the sanctions and recognize him as head of state."

What Lukashenko wanted was never a secret, but indications of an effective trade-off with the German leader are startling nonetheless.

Even more surprising is the extent to which Lukashenko has gone to get that message across.

In the past year, the Belarusian leader has gone from being a nuisance on Europe's borders to a much larger threat that has upset Ryanair flights, or his plans to create migrant crises on Europe's borders on a whim.

Yet Lukashenko seems convinced that his best way out of trouble is to further escalate, in a desperate attempt to re-establish contact with Europe by becoming ever more ruthless.

To some extent he can claim to have succeeded.

Merkel called Lukashenko for the second time on Wednesday.

And the media said that the two sides agreed to hold direct talks with the European Union on resolving the crisis, and that Merkel agreed to a request from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to allow international organizations to provide assistance.

"European leaders will not be blackmailed into recognizing a leader whose gangster-like tactics created the worst border crisis in decades and, in our view, for the EU to remain united and exert influence over Belarus through action," Limets said.

This is the kind of attention that Lukashenko, who has been blacklisted since he brutally crushed his opposition in 2020, has been craving. His spokesperson denied that he had raised sanctions or recognition as president during those talks.

The talks angered senior officials in the governments of Lukashenko's neighbors.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said he would not recognize any deals that were done "over our heads".

"No serious leader has spoken to Lukashenko yet," he said, promising that Poland would impose its sovereignty "without mercy."

Europe has shown that it is willing to support Poland, despite concerns about its extreme border measures, to show Minsk that it cannot be blackmailed.

New sanctions have been confirmed that will push Belarus further into isolation, leaving Putin Lukashenko's only real lifeline.

The Belarusian leader's end game remains ambiguous, as a panel of experts from the European Council on Foreign Relations noted: "He does not care that migrants die at the borders," adding, "For him, it is a question of revenge and the question of the survival of his regime - which means that he is ready to further escalate and seek To get Russia’s support in this process.”

• The end game for the Belarusian leader is still ambiguous, as a panel of experts from the European Council on Foreign Relations noted: “He does not care that migrants die at the borders.” The committee adds, “For him, it is a question of revenge and the question of the survival of his regime - which means that he is ready for further escalation. And seek Russia’s support in this process.”

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