More than 11,200 migrants tried to enter Germany from Belarus in 2021, claim officials

German Federal Police claimed that they have stopped 11,213 migrants this year from unlawfully entering the nation from Belarus via neighbouring Poland. The number of undocumented migrants crossing into Germany through Poland increased to 474 in August, a steep rise from 26 between January to July, they said as per news agency Sputnik. The number of illegal migrants having a "Belarusian connection," as defined by German authorities, increased to 2,049 in September, 5,294 in October, and 2,849 in November. As of December 29, police have recorded 521 unlawful crossings. 

The European Union has accused Belarus of waving through migrants, most of whom are from the Middle East and Africa, in retaliation to crippling economic sanctions. However, President Alexander Lukashenko has often denied this accusation. Meanwhile, Belarus accuses EU neighbours of pushing vulnerable people back across the border. According to a top Belarusian official Ukraine is fabricating the issue of migration in order to obtain money from "western curators." On November 29, Belarusian Security Council Secretary Aleksandr Volfovich stated that the Ukrainian leadership inflated the issue in order to "extort money" from their western patrons, such as Poles or Lithuanians, reported Sputnik. 

Earlier this month Germany's newly-elected Chancellor Olaf Scholz paid an inaugural visit to Poland, where he hoped for better ties with Warsaw despite fundamental differences. He was welcomed by the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki who termed Scholz's visit as a 'new chapter in the ties between both the countries. While the two EU countries have always had friendly relations, a recent disagreement over the Nord Stream 2 gas project has become a matter of contention. 

German Chancellor Scholz discusses the migrant issue with Poland's PM

Regardless, Scholz and Morawiecki held in-depth conversations on a wide range of subjects, including the migrant crisis and regional security. Following the meeting on December 12, the Polish leader told reporters that the migrant crisis on the country's eastern border is still ongoing and that Poland and Germany have discussed possible sanctions against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's regime. We have attacks every night. There have been over 100 attempts to cross the border illegally," Morawiecki was quoted as saying by Tass News Agency.

Image: AP