The European Union said Tuesday it would suspend a visa deal with Belarus for government officials but not for ordinary citizens in response to what it called the "instrumentalization" of migrants.
"It is unacceptable for Belarus to play with people's lives for political purposes," Slovenian Interior Minister Ales Hojs said in a statement sent out by the Council of the EU, which represents the 27 member states.
The move, set to be implemented within two days, "shows once again our joint commitment to continue countering this ongoing hybrid attack," Hojs, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said.
The visa facilitation agreement - introduced shortly before the August 2020 Belarus elections the EU said were neither free nor fair - reduces paperwork requirement and application fees and regulates multiple-entry visas.
For months, the EU has accused Minsk of abetting migrants trying to reach the bloc's external borders in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania - even flying in asylum seekers from crises regions - in retaliation to Western sanctions on Belarus for political repression.
The migrants are caught at the centre of a fierce diplomatic row between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and the EU, which does not recognize the authoritarian ruler as a legitimate leader.
Source: DPA
