SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with Belarusian Ambassador to Iraq Victor Rybak to discuss immigration, as Iraqis including Kurds continue to migrate to Europe through Belarus.
In a statement, the KRG said Barzani and Rybak discussed the situation of refugees in Belarus.
They stressed the “importance of having coordination and contacts to solve the issues of people from the Kurdistan Region who visit Belarus,” the KRG said.
The two sides said illegal travelling and immigration should be prevented, according to the statement.
Despite the risk of getting stranded in Europe or perishing on the way there, hundreds of people from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have opted to be smuggled into European Union countries via Belarus.
Hundreds of Kurdish migrants have been stuck on the border between Belarus and Poland.
Though Iraq suspended direct flights from Baghdad to Minsk in August under EU pressure, migrants are now flying via Dubai or Turkey.
The trips can cost up to $12,000 including flights and being smuggled overland once in Europe.
Several Iraqi and Kurdish migrants have died crossing into Poland from Belarus.
Poland, Lithuania and the EU have accused Belarus of encouraging migrants, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, to cross their borders as a form of pressure on the bloc over sanctions Brussels has imposed on Minsk over human rights abuses.
More than 37,000 Iraqis have left the country this year, according to the Lutka Foundation for Refugee and Displaced Affairs.
