EU says never meant Aeroflot in connection with migrant crisis

BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (PRIME) -- The European Commission has never pointed to Russian national flagship air carrier Aeroflot in connection with the on-going migrant crisis on the border between the E.U. and Belarus, European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker told PRIME late on Monday.

"We never singled out Aeroflot, nor any other airline and Russia is among the countries we monitor for a potential or tendencies to be misused in the instrumentalization of migrants by the (Belarusian President Alexander) Lukashenko regime," he said.

De Keersmaecker also declined to comment on the possible sanctions lists.

Earlier in November, Bloomberg reported quoting a source familiar with the matter that the E.U. had been discussing sanctions for several foreign airlines, including Aeroflot and Turkish Airlines, over the migrant crisis on the border of Belarus and Poland. Aeroflot denied any involvement in transportation of migrants.

Previously, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk had refused to hold the flow of migrants and refugees to the E.U. any longer for the lack of funds because of the sanctions imposed by the West. Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland registered an increase of detains of illegal migrants at their borders with Belarus, and Poland even had to introduce an emergency regime at its border.

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