On a visit to Poland, Merkel addressed the influx of migrants — mostly from the Middle East — via Belarus into the eastern EU states of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. “The appeal to the Belarusian side is to realise that defenceless people from other regions are being used as subjects of hybrid attacks,” Merkel told a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “I think it is completely unacceptable to carry out such hybrid attacks on the backs of individuals,” the chancellor said, adding she had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the issue. She said the migrants should be assisted by humanitarian organisations and “the Polish side must also be open to this”. Merkel said this would be her last visit to Warsaw as chancellor since she will step down following elections this month.

Source: The Local September 12, 2021 06:56 UTC