Ankara denies Turkish Airlines' role in Poland-Belarus refugee crisis

Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has denied the allegations that Turkish Airlines takes part in human smuggling from Belarus to Poland.

Having a phone conversation yesterday (November 10) with his counterpart from Poland, Zbigniew Rau, Çavuşoğlu underlined Turkey is not a party to the crisis, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).

Çavuşoğlu expressed his regret about "unfounded allegations" and attempts to portray Turkey as a part of the problem, AA reported.

The minister also said the public should be informed properly about these allegations and he invited technical teams from Poland for discussions.

On Tuesday, Turkey's flag carrier also denied claims that it was flying migrants to Belarus amid a migrant crisis.

Turkish Airlines flights to Belarus were in no way aiding in illegal immigration traffic, it said.

Poland and the EU have accused President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko of trying to retaliate against EU sanctions by deliberately inviting and forcing migrants toward the Belarus-Poland border.

EU countries bordering Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, have reported an excessive incre in "irregular crossings" since August.

NATO and the EU consider Belarus' approach toward migrants an effort to "destabilize and undermine security in the bloc through non-military means."

Call for sanctions

According to the latest EU figures, 7,935 people tried to enter the bloc via the Belarus-EU border so far this year, up sharply from just 150 last year.

On Monday, Poland stepped up border security and mobilized more than 12,000 troops after a large group of migrants started marching toward the country's frontier with Belarus accompanied by the Belarusian military.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that they might blacklist airlines involved in human smuggling.

"I call for approval of extended sanctions, possible sanctions on third country airlines involved," she said.

The PM of Lithuania, Ingrida Simonyte, had also accused Turkey of helping human smuggling.

"Belarus is providing free flights to refugees. They bring refugees from Baghdad, and possibly from İstanbul, to Belarus by planes," he claimed in July. (TP/VK)