Belarus

MINSK, December 20. /TASS/: The Belarusian Investigative Committee has handed over the criminal case against Russian national Sofia Sapega, accused on four counts of the republic’s Criminal Code, to a prosecutor for submitting it to a court of law for trial, the Investigative Committee reported on Monday.

MINSK, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus declares the futility of sanctions threats and calls on the European Union (EU) to "stop generating tension" in the region, press secretary Anatoly Glaz said on Friday, commenting on the results of the summit of EU member states.

According to Glaz, the rhetoric of aggression is becoming dominant in the EU. However, threats do not contribute to the solution of any problems, but only exacerbate the situation. Belarus is ready to give an adequate response to any sanctions and destructive steps.

MINSK, December 7. /TASS/: Belarus is introducing food embargo for goods from countries pursuing the unfriendly policy against the country, the press service of the Council of Ministers said on Tuesday.

MINSK, November 30. /TASS/: Su-30SM multirole fighters of Belarus and Russia conducted a new joint aerial patrol over the Belarusian state border to enhance air defense combat alerts, the republic’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"Efforts continue for implementing a decision on joint patrols of the airspace along the state border of the Republic of Belarus to enhance air defense combat alerts by a mixed tactical group of Su-30SM multirole fighters of Belarus and Russia," the ministry’s press office said on its Telegram channel and uploaded a video clip.

MINSK, November 27. /TASS/: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev informed his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko about the meeting Aliyev had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"Ilham Aliyev informed Alexander Lukashenko about the earlier trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia," Lukashenko’s press service said Saturday. "Besides, Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev discussed Azerbaijan’s relations with the CSTO."

BRUZGI, Belarus/MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko told migrants stranded at the border with Poland on Friday that his country would help them to return home if they wanted but would not force them.

Thousands of migrants are stuck on the European Union's eastern frontier, in what the EU says is a crisis Minsk engineered by distributing Belarusian visas in the Middle East, flying them in and pushing them across the border.

MINSK, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Roughly 1,000 Iraqi refugees in Belarus have expressed their readiness to return home, and a group of refugees returned to Iraq by plane from Minsk airport on Wednesday, reported Belarusian media.

The Iraqi side received requests from about 1,000 people wishing to return to Iraq, Majid al-Kinani, the Iraqi consul in Russia and Belarus, was quoted as saying.

MINSK, November 25. /TASS/: The Belarusian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday that a decision was made to ramp up air defense quick reaction alert forces and carry out joint air patrols with Russian combat aircraft along the republic’s state border.

BRUZGI, Belarus/WARSAW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday Belarus seeks no confrontation with Poland but wants the European Union to take in 2,000 of the migrants stranded on its border, and he added that if the crisis deteriorated "too far, war is unavoidable".

The European Union accuses Belarus of flying in thousands of people from the Middle East and pushing them to cross into the EU via Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed on Minsk over Lukashenko's crushing of protests against his disputed re-election last year.

MINSK, November 18. /TASS/: The Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Thursday the number of flights by NATO reconnaissance and combat aircraft along the country’s border has doubled, including flights over Ukrainian airspace. 

This shows the situation around the country continues to escalate, the ministry said.