The EU is ramping up pressure on Iraq to stop its airlines from flying to Belarus, which helps Minsk send asylum seekers into the EU in retaliation against sanctions imposed by the bloc.
On Thursday, there were signs that the pressure was beginning to work. An Iraqi Airways flight from Basra to Minsk was canceled. However, an aircraft belonging to another carrier, Fly Baghdad, did land in the Belarusian capital Thursday, although a flight scheduled for Friday was canceled. Iraqi Airways recently expanded its schedule of flights to Belarus, while Fly Baghdad first started trips to Minsk in May.
“We welcome the reports on the decision about the cancellation of these flights,” a European Commission spokesperson said Thursday, although they did not confirm reports that Iraqi Airways will cancel flights until August 15.
The EU has accused Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko of trying to “weaponize” the Iraqi migrants who arrive in Minsk. They are taken to the border with Lithuania and then cross into the EU; so far, 4,000 asylum seekers have entered, almost 2,800 of them from Iraq. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis estimates that up to 10,000 migrants could come into his country by the end of the summer. Last year, Lithuania received only about 80 migrants.
This migration crisis is very different from previous ones where people crossed into the EU by sea. The main access to Belarus is by air, and despite EU efforts to throttle traffic, Minsk is working hard to expand the number of flights reaching the country.
The immediate pressure is on Iraq, but there is also an increase in flights to Minsk from Turkey, also reportedly carrying asylum seekers.
The EU is ramping up pressure on Iraq to fall into line.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, got involved, speaking to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Talks with the Iraqis are “done in a very constructive spirit [with] the Iraqi side conveying the willingness to cooperate and jointly address the situation,” said the Commission spokesperson.
Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and others joined Lithuania in putting pressure on Baghdad, diplomats said. An Iraqi delegation was in Lithuania last week and visited the camps where Iraqis are staying.
Some EU diplomats say that the diplomatic effort is hampered by a lack of strong leverage over Baghdad. The Iraqis “are well aware that we cannot abandon them, we need them for our security and we cannot risk having another Afghanistan next door,” said an EU diplomat.
The bloc did threaten last month to restrict visas for Iraqis to improve cooperation in taking back people rejected for asylum. The Commission said that “Iraqi authorities cooperate only on voluntary returns and in very exceptional cases (Iraqi nationals convicted for a criminal offense) on forced returns” and that “Iraq’s cooperation with the EU on readmission matters is not sufficient and that action is needed.”
More flights
While flights from Iraq are the most pressing issue, there is also worry about the increase in routes from Turkey.
In recent weeks, Belavia — which is currently banned from European airspace after Minsk illegally diverted a Ryanair plane in May to kidnap an opposition blogger — has beefed up its schedule from Turkey. Two routes between Minsk and Istanbul that had been serviced three times a week are now flying daily. Regular flights from Izmir have been reinstated, as have several regular flights from Antalya — although those are also popular holiday destinations for Belarusians.
There is also an effort to crack down on EU-based leasing companies supplying aircraft to Belavia.
Brussels “must make sure that no European company can provide assets that facilitate the trafficking route,” Landsbergis told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook on Wednesday.
According to an EU official, several of the jets operated by Belavia come from Ireland. A company based in Denmark, Nordic Aviation Capital, has also provided aircraft to Belavia in the past. A spokesperson for the firm said it would not comment, but the company announced last September that it had delivered the last plane of a five-jet agreement to the carrier.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told POLITICO his government does not yet “have sufficient information to verify such claims” but said the case is being reviewed by Danish authorities.
“But let me be clear: If Danish companies are involved in Lukashenko’s deliberate, malicious and cynical efforts to use migrants as a political weapon to try and put pressure on Lithuania and the EU, then that would, of course, be totally unacceptable and should be stopped immediately,” he said. “If European companies aid and abet the Lukashenko regime in this way, then I firmly believe we need to revisit our current sanctions in the EU.”
SMBC Aviation Capital, a Dublin-based company that has previously leased aircraft to Belavia, said in an email on Wednesday that it had not been contacted by Irish or European authorities. The Irish government did not respond to a request for comment.
