MINSK, 17 January (BelTA) – Russian partners have absolutely no reasons for concerns in view of the agreement between Belarus and the International Organization for Migration on setting up cutting-edge centers for the temporary accommodation of foreign citizens in Belarus. The point of view was formulated by Dmitry Mironchik, Head of the Information Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when asked to comment on the statement made by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov. In particular, Sergei Lavrov noted that the Belarus-EU agreement on creating centers for the temporary accommodation of foreigners “raises questions and enables opportunities for abuse,” BelTA has learned.
The Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Let me begin by saying that in today's extremely complicated situation Belarus is one of the few countries on the continent to effectively tackle the migration problem in a civilized way. The fact has been recognized by the relevant international bodies including the International Organization for Migration and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Even when 160,000 Ukrainian refugees came to Belarus within a short period of time we managed to resolve the situation without ‘refugee camps', resettlement problems and so on. We are confident that our Russian partners have not a single reason for concern due to the agreement between Belarus and the International Organization for Migration on setting up centers for the temporary accommodation of foreign citizens in accordance with up-to-date standards. The work will be financed with assistance of the European Union.”
Dmitry Mironchik also explained: “We are doing exactly the things our Russian partners did ten years ago. Let me remind you that back then the International Organization for Migration and the European Union implemented a similar project to help the Russian Federation government to bolster its administrative potential and the legal base within the framework of implementation of readmission agreements. Apart from that, they implemented, for instance, projects to support the readmission agreement that the European Union had signed with Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine taking into account voluntary return and reintegration aspects. As part of these projects the European Union provided financial support to Russia while the International Organization for Migration provided assistance with creating a system of centers for the accommodation of third-country citizens, who were meant to return to and from the Russian Federation within the framework of the readmission agreements signed with European countries and third countries.”
The Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Belarus had not raised any questions and had not expressed any concerns whatsoever in view of such cooperation between Russia, the European Union, and the International Organization for Migration. “We understood and took into account the fact that the work was aimed at stabilizing and improving the migration situation in the Union State of Belarus and Russia and welcomed the relevant efforts of our Russian partners,” said Dmitry Mironchik. “To reiterate, Belarus is doing exactly the same things that Russia did a bit earlier. The only difference is that back then the Russian Federation had already signed the readmission agreement with the European Union and respectively the country was obliged to take back the illegal migrants, who entered the European Union via Russia. We have no obligations like that now. We are working taking into account the Russian experience in a bid to forestall possible problems.”
In addition to that, Dmitry Mironchik stressed: “Belarus and Russia share a common cause that is fully compliant with efforts aimed at developing the common migration space of Belarus and Russia.”
