lukashenko should stop trying to destabilise — lukashenko should stop trying to destabilise the _ lukashenko should stop trying to destabilise the whole _ lukashenko should stop trying to destabilise the whole region, - lukashenko should stop trying to| destabilise the whole region, and lukashenko should stop trying to i destabilise the whole region, and of course. _ destabilise the whole region, and of course, something _ destabilise the whole region, and of course, something perhaps - destabilise the whole region, and of course, something perhaps more i course, something perhaps more efficient— course, something perhaps more efficient that _ course, something perhaps more efficient that eu _ course, something perhaps more efficient that eu has _ course, something perhaps more efficient that eu has been- course, something perhaps more efficient that eu has been in- efficient that eu has been in contact _ efficient that eu has been in contact with— efficient that eu has been in contact with neighbouring. efficient that eu has been in- contact with neighbouring middle eastern _ contact wi

so that is some of steve rosenberg's interview with president lukashenko. and i have to say, steve, as i was watching it, my mouth was hanging open on occasions because i couldn't believe how frank he was being. were you surprised? well, you know, i know he's an emotional person, but it was fascinating having this dialogue with him, and i don't think he expected to be interrupted, he is not used tojournalists interviewing him and interrupting. and i had to try to interrupt him because what i didn't want the interview to become was a platform for mr lukashenko, this controversial leader, who is not recognised as the president of belarus by the european union, britain or america. i didn't want it to become a platform for him to just put across his views, so i had to press him on human rights in belarus, on relations with russia. and some of the things he didn't like. he got irritated when i brought up vladimir putin. you could tell that. and he always mentioned the west, he blamed the west for everything. he used the west as an excuse. and i noticed he also r

we were told that mr lukashenko was on his way. he could have waltzed into the room, sat down, there wasn't much small talk. i said, you know, "my russian is not native, but i will try my best". he said, "i'm glad you're going to do the interview in my language", and off we went. and very quickly, you know, he was trying to put me down. you know, he accused me of lying. he said "don't be dumb". and used the familiar form — you know, in russian there is one form, the polite form for "you", and a familiar form, and he used the familiar form — which i took as an insult, basically. so he was clearly trying to get one up on me, i think, pretty early on. before we talk about it any further, steve, let's hear some of the interview. translation: you told the eu that belarus had been stopping migrants but that now, they would have to catch them themselves. the migrants took that to mean belarus is open to then. translation: i told the eu i'm not going to detain migrants - on the border, hold them - at the border, and if they keep coming

belarus�*s authoritarian leader, alexander lukashenko, speaks exclusively to the bbc. he admits that his forces may have helped migrants cross into the european union. translation: i told the eu i'm not going to detain migrants - on the border, hold them at the border, and if they keep coming from now on, i still won't stop them. the women's tennis association threatens to pull out of china as the outcry intensifies over missing chinese tennis star peng shuai. and hear how this german french horn player who was born with no arms is now on tour with the bournemouth symphony orchestra. hello and welcome to bbc news. a us teenager who shot dead two people and injured another during racialjustice protests in wisconsin last year has been found not guilty of murder. kyle rittenhouse argued that he was repeatedly attacked, and had acted in self—defence. the protests in the city of kenosha came after a black man, jacob blake, was shot by police. mr rittenhouse and the men he shot are all white. prosecutors said that the teenager had behaved like an armed vigilante who provok

belarus�*s authoritarian leader alexander lukashenko speaks exclusively to the bbc. he admits that his forces may have helped migrants cross into the european union. translation: i told the eu i'm not going to detain migrants - on the border, hold them at the border, and if they keep coming from now on, i still won't stop them. the women's tennis association threatens to pull out of china as the outcry intensifies over missing chinese tennis star peng shuai. and how this german french horn player who was born with no arms is now touring with the bournemouth symphony orchestra. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a us teenager who shot dead two people and injured another during racialjustice protests in wisconsin last year has been found not guilty of murder. kyle rittenhouse argued that he was repeatedly attacked, and had acted in self—defence. the protests in the city of kenosha came after a black man, jacob blake, was shot by police. mr rittenhouse and the men he shot are all white. prosecutors said that the teenager had behaved like an

which gave mister lukashenko 80% of the vote. so some viewers were surprised that he was described on bbc news online as president lukashenko and on tv headlines like this. in an exclusive bbc interview, the man known as europe's last dictator, president lukashenko of belarus, says he won't stop the flow of migrants through his country. one viewer, nordeast, posted this plea. we put that point to bbc news and they gave us this statement. closer to home, on monday, the news at six reported that the brits, the biggest award ceremony in british music, was scrapping separate categories for men and women. here is sophie rayworth. it will no longer give out prizes for best male or best female but instead choose one artist of the year. the brit award—winning singer sam smith who identifies as non— binary has campaigned for the change. he says he felt unable to enter last year because of the gender—based nature of the categories. that use of the pronoun "he" in relation to sam smith who is asked to be referred to as they are them r

we were told that mr lukashenko was on his way. he could have waltzed into the room, sat down, there wasn't much small talk. i said, you know, "my russian is not native, but i will try my best". he said, "i'm glad you're going to do the interview in my language", and off we went. and very quickly, you know, he was trying to put me down. you know, he accused me of lying. he said "don't be dumb". and used the familiar form — you know, in russian there is one form, the polite form for "you", and a familiarform, and he used the familiar form — which i took as an insult, basically. so he was clearly trying to get one up on me, i think, pretty early on. before we talk about it any further, steve, let's hear some of the interview. translation: you told the eu that belarus had been stopping migrants but that now, they would have to catch them themselves. the migrants took that to mean belarus is open to then. translation: i told the eu i'm not going to detain - migrants on the border, i hold them at the border, and if they keep coming

and whether or not putin and lukashenko— in. and whether or not putin and lukashenko have _ in. and whether or not putin and lukashenko have provoked - in. and whether or not putin and lukashenko have provoked this, | in. and whether or not putin and i lukashenko have provoked this, it will be _ lukashenko have provoked this, it will be hugeiy— lukashenko have provoked this, it will be hugely problematic - lukashenko have provoked this, it will be hugely problematic to - lukashenko have provoked this, it will be hugely problematic to not. will be hugely problematic to not let people — will be hugely problematic to not let people and _ will be hugely problematic to not let people and if— will be hugely problematic to not let people and if they— will be hugely problematic to not let people and if they are - will be hugely problematic to not| let people and if they are literally freezing — let people and if they are literally freezing to — let people and if they are literally freezing to death _ let people and if they are literally freezing to death on _ let people and

the west says alexander lukashenko is using migrants as a political weapon. we confronted him with claims his troops have been cutting borderfences to help migrants into the eu. translation: our guys - are helping the migrants get into polish territory? it's perfectly possible. i think that's absolutely possible. maybe somebody helped them. i won't even look into this. thousands of migrants have been coming to belarus to try to slip into europe. alexander lukashenko denies bringing them here, but he warned the eu six months ago. translation: you told the eu that belarus had been stopping migrants but now, they would have to catch them themselves. the migrants took that to mean belarus is open to them. i told the eu i'm not going to detain migrants on the border, hold them at the border, and if they keep coming from now on, i still won't stop them because they're not coming to my country, they're going to yours. the west stopped talking to us and working with us. if you don't want to, then fine, we will sort this problem out ourselves as best we can. this was

the west says alexander lukashenko is using migrants as a political weapon. we confronted him with claims his troops have been cutting border fences to help migrants into the eu. translation: our guys are helping the migrants get into polish territory? it is perfectly possible. i think that is absolutely possible. maybe somebody help them. i won't even look into this. thousands of migrants have been coming to belarus to try and slip into europe. alexander lukashenko denies bringing them here, but he warned the eu six months ago. you told the eu that belarus had been stopping migrants and but now they would have to catch them themselves. the migrants took that to mean belarus is open to them. translation: i told the eu i am not going to detain migrants on the border, hold them at the border and if they keep coming from now on, i still will not stop them, because they are not coming to my country, they are going to yours, the west up talking to us and working with us. if you do not want to, then fine, we will sort this problem out ourselves as best we can. this

steve: the west says lukashenko is using migrants as a political weapon. we confronted him with claims that his troops have been cutting border fences to help migrants into the eu. >> our guys are helping the migrants get into the territory. it is perfectly possible. maybe someone helped to them. i won't even look into this. steve: thousands of migrants have been coming to belarus to slip into europe. alexander lukashenko denies bringing them here. he said belarus had been stopping migrants. the migrants took that to mean that belarus was open. >> i told the eu we would not detain migrants the border, and if they keep coming, i still won't stop them. they aren't coming to my country. they will go to yours. we will sorthis problem out ourselves as best we can. steve: this was belarus last year. alexander lukashenko under intense pressure, accused of rigging and election and stealing the presidency, but he launched a brutal crackdown on the his critics and on civil society. we saw protesters being beaten, and we saw young people coming out of detention cente

which gave mister lukashenko 80% of the vote. so some viewers were surprised that he was described on bbc news online as president lukashenko and on tv headlines like this. in an exclusive bbc interview the man known as europe's last dictator, president lukashenko of belarus says he won't stop the flow of migrants through his country. one viewer posted this... we put that point to bbc news and they gave us a statement... closer to home on monday the news at six reported that the brits, the biggest award ceremony in british music was scrapping separate categories for men and women. it will no longer give out prizes for best male or best female but instead choose one artist of the year. the brit award—winning singer sam smith who identifies as non— binary has campaigned for the change. he says he felt unable to enter last year because of the gender—based nature of the categories. that use of the pronoun he in relation to sam smith who is asked to be referred to as they are them rather than he or him infuriated some members of

steve: the west says lukashenko is using migrants as a political weapon. we confronted him with claims that his troops have been cutting border fences to help migrants into the eu. >> our guys are helping the migrants get into the territory. it is perfectly possible. maybe someone helped to them. won't even look into this. steve: thousands of migrants have been coming to belarus to slip into europe. alexander lukashenko denies bringing them here. he said belarus had been stopping migrants. the migrants took that to mean that belarus was open. >> i told the eu we would not detain migrants the border, and if they keep coming, i still won't stop them. they aren't coming to my country. they will go to yours. we will sorthis problem out ourselves as best we can. steve: this was belarus last year. alexander lukashenko under intense pressure, accused of rigging and election and stealing the presidency, but he launched a brutal crackdown on the his critics and on civil society. we saw protesters being beaten, and we saw young people coming out of detention centers

belarus�*s authoritarian leader, alexander lukashenko, speaks exclusively to the bbc. he admits that his forces may have helped migrants cross into the european union. translation: i told the eu . i'm not going to take migrants —— detain migrants on the border, hold them at the border, and if they keep coming from now on, i still won't stop them. the women's tennis association threatens to pull out of china as the outcry intensifies over missing chinese tennis star peng shuai. and how this german french horn player who was born with no arms is now touring with the bournemouth symphony orchestra. hello there. a us teenager who shot dead two people and injured another during racialjustice protests in wisconsin last year has been found not guilty of murder. kyle rittenhouse argued that he was repeatedly attacked and had acted in self—defence. the protests in the city of kenosha came after a black man, jacob blake, was shot by police. mr rittenhouse and the men he shot are all white. prosecutors said that the teenager had behaved like an armed vigilante who provoked

president lukashenko and putin know each other well. that's relevant as we look at the crisis on the border between poland and belarus was up poland is in the european union and the eu accuses lukashenko of encouraging migrants to use belarus as a route into the eu. lukashenko denies that but thousands have come in and in desperate conditions had tried to get into poland. 0ther desperate conditions had tried to get into poland. other eu countries are affected too. lithuania and latvia have also seen a rise in illegal crossings from belarus. and for the polish prime minister this is an only about belarus and the eu, it's about russia.— is an only about belarus and the eu, it's about russia. translation: this attack with the _ it's about russia. translation: this attack with the back _ it's about russia. translation: this attack with the back which _ attack with the back which lukashenko has conducted has its mastermind in moscow. the mastermind is president— mastermind in moscow. the mastermind is president putin.— is president put

translation: this attack which lukashenko _ translation: this attack which lukashenko is _ translation: this attack which lukashenko is conduct _ translation: this attack which lukashenko is conduct thing - translation: this attack which lukashenko is conduct thing has| lukashenko is conduct thing has its mastermind in moscow. the mastermind is president putin. others disagree with that saying it is simply lukashenko taking revenge for eu sanctions and whether they are or are not the mastermind they are certainly involved in this process. putin has spoken to angela merkel on the phone and is offering to mediate. they have a track record of testing the west. did so in crimea, georgia and even in space by destroying a satellite and a missile test, much to nato's irritation and this isn'tjust about military might, because to understand putin's plans, we also need to think about energy too. this is the to gas pipeline. it runs from russia to western europe but it is not switched on yet stoppage has just delayed giving at the ok, but here it is, stretching under the baltic sea and when it i

>> fred, so president lukashenko is now threatening to cut off gas. that's really vladimir putin's call. russia has shown willingness to use gas as a bargaining chip and prices spiked in europe. could that happen? play that out for us. >> reporter: i think it's certainly something that is not really -- that could be excluded at least. you're right, alexander lukashenko, in a tirade with his cabinet, said, look, the ire peen union is threatening belarus with further sanctions. that's what europe is saying, they want to put sanctions. the u.s. is talking about drawing up new sanctions against lukashenko and his regime as well. we are the ones heating europe, he put it. what happens if we cut the gas off? it is an extremely sensitive topic in europe for the reasons you just mentioned, christine, and that is that we have had these issues with gas deliveries to the european union where there were already some who believed russia might be playing a hand in that as well. it is absolutely unclear whether or not vladimir putin would go along with something lik

belarus' authoritarian leader alexander lukashenko speaks exclusively to the bbc. he admits that his forces may have helped migrants cross into the european union. translation: i told the eu i'm not going to take migrants on the border, hold them at the border and if they keep coming from now on, i still won't stop them. and kamala harris becomes the first woman ever to hold us presidential powers whilejoe biden had a medical procedure. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a us teenager who shot dead two people and injured another during racialjustice protests in wisconsin last year has been found not guilty of murder. kyle rittenhouse argued that he was repeatedly attacked and had acted in self—defence. the protests in the city of kenosha came after a black man, jacob blake, was shot by police. mr rittenhouse and the men he shot are all white. prosecutors said that the teenager had behaved like an armed vigilante who provoked several violent encounters. our correspondent nomia iqbal reports from kenosha. the defendant will rise and face

lukashenko and called him an outstanding politician that gave lukashenko the opportunity to put forward his view of the world. as he so often does, he called lack white and white black. for months now he's been accused by the european leaders of weaponizing migration. turned everything around in the interview and blamed european leaders for the current crisis. ♪ ross: let's shift from steve to the conflict in ethiopia. the u.n. says more than a dozen local staff have been detained in the capital addis ababa. we don't know why but last month several officials were expelled after being accused of meddling in ethiopia's affairs. the u.n. release a statement saying its security officers have visited the detained colleagues. diplomatic notes have been sent to the minister of foreign affairs to request the immediate release of the detained personnel. here is a copy of the devil medic correspondent from james telling us the foreign office is advising british nationals to leave the -- leave ethiopia and that security council's warning there is a risk of a full civil war. the region at the cen

the west says alexander lukashenko is using migrants as a political weapon. we confronted him with claims his troops have been cutting border fences to help migrants into the eu. translation: our guys - are helping the migrants get into the polish territory? it is possible. i think that is absolutely possible. maybe someone helped them. i won't even look into this. thousands of migrants have been coming to belarus to try to slip into europe. alexander lukashenko denies bringing them here. but he warned the eu six months ago. translation: you told the eu that belarus has been stopping migrants and now they would have to catch them themselves the migrants took that to mean belarus is open to them. i told the eu i won't hold migrants at the border or detain them at the border. they're not coming to my country, they're going to yours, the west stopped talking to us and working with us, if you don't want to, then fine, we will sort this problem out ourselves, as best we can. this was belarus last year. alexander lukashenko under pressure, accused of rigging an ele

belarus�*s authoritarian leader, alexander lukashenko, speaks exclusively to the bbc. he admits that his forces may have helped migrants cross into the european union. translation: i told the eu i'm not going to detain - migrants on the border, hold them at the border, and if they keep coming from now on, i still won't stop them. the women's tennis association threatens to pull out of china as the outcry intensifies over missing chinese tennis star peng shuai. and kamala harris becomes the first woman ever to hold us presidential powers whilejoe biden had a medical procedure. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. thank you forjoining us. a us teenager who shot dead two people and injured another during racialjustice protests in wisconsin last year has been found not guilty of murder. kyle rittenhouse had argued that he was repeatedly attacked and had acted in self—defence. the protests in the city of kenosha came after a black man, jacob blake, was shot by police. mr rittenhouse and the men he shot are all white. prosecutors said that the tee

. >> at the center of this is the belarusian president, alexander lukashenko. he is accused of mounting a hybrid attack. encouraging them to cross illegally into poland. they say he is doing this in revenge against existing sanctions that were imposed due to the disputed presidential election last year. president lukashenko denies engineering this crisis and has this message. >> to organize a flow of migrants, it's more trouble than it's worth. we have never done that, and we don't plan to. they threaten us with sanctions, ok, we will see. they think that i'm joking. we do everything for this camp not to exist, so that those willing to get into the european union can do so. but for those not willing, we are ready as we have always been to put everyone on planes. i need to say that these people are very ubborn and no one wants to return. >> the eu is also accusing rush of supporting president lukashenko, something moscow denies. here is russia's deputy ambassador to the you in -- u.n. >> there is a game of shifting blame. the main slogan of european and western

agreed that lukashenko had stolen the opposion, thate was not legitimate leader. no one else has bestowed legitimacy upon him of giving, him a phone call, until angela merkel. so people are willing to see if any good comes out of this call. but there are people who think that no one on this side of that order should be speaking with alexander lukashenko. brent: it is interesting that the german chancellor spoke with lukashenko when this crisis was erupting the first person merkel formed was the russian president, vladimir putin. this begs the question tonight does the european union has a clear plan on how to bring this crisis to an end? guest: you know, we have spoken about this several times, and the plan that the e.u. is putting in place does seem to be having some effect. the first thing they are doing this week is to go directly to capitals and ask them to stop the flight. stop people from getting on the flights to add to people getting on the borders. and we have seen airlines in iraq and syria and qatar, the uae and turkey, many of them now saying they will

lukashenko denies those claims. the worsening standoff off the border risks drawing in other nations. today russia spoke in defense of belarus and deployed aircraft to patrol the airspace. our european correspondent said is this report from the border. >> for those that hoped to find a new life in the european union, a grim realization. this could now be home, trapped between belarus and poland. the epc was sent these pictures as a journalist and aid agencies are being kept away. we managed to contact illias a scientist in iraq. he wants poland to let them through. >> my message is i want you to open the border. >> why should poland over the border to you? >> one day, two days, three days. >> you for your will die? -- do you fear people will die? >> yes. >>: has been accused of pushing back migrants illegally. but it wants to highlight belarusian troops appearing to force migrants along the border of the polish accusing batterers of terrorism masterminded by russia. tonight angela merkel appeal to moscow. >> you are

what is going on at the border and are strings being pulled by president lukashenko and president lukashenko and president putin? t5 president lukashenko and president putin?— president putin? is your reporter _ president putin? is your reporter said, _ president putin? is your reporter said, presidentj reportersaid, president lukashenko has orchestrated lu kashenko has orchestrated this, lukashenko has orchestrated this, flying these people to belarus deliberately. he wants to cause havoc in the eu, he wants to punish the eu for the sanctions imposed on them really since an election which was falsified and for other things he has done to his people and possibly downing a plane. he certainly is if you like the evil genius behind this. the role of russia and president putin is maybe a little less clear. this looks as if this was present lukashenko's idea. he is very dependent on russia for its economic help and energy supplies and it is very difficult to imagine that if russia did not want belarus to be doing this, that it would not pull some strings to get lukashenko to back down. as we he

richard traduce the sanctions after human rights abuses by lukashenko. we have the eu introduced sanctions on him, mr lukashenko and the physical establishment. on the very day mr lukashenko publicly announced that he will create a special artificial migration problem for poland as a neighbouring country but for the whole of the eu. of course there�*s always a place for this, but we first need to see any positives taken by the belarussian regime. there�*s hundreds of people in detention, no, the prisoners are not released. still human rights abuses going on. translation: if god forbid, we make any mistake, - if we take a wrong step, then it will instantly drag russia into this maelstrom and it�*s the largest nuclear—armed power. i am not a madman i understand very well what this could lead to. so, there is no valour here — grab an assault rifle and march to the polish border, by the way, a place where i used to serve as a border guard. no, surely not, we realise it, we know our place. but, igor we will not kneel down. this story is also playing

now, this week, lukashenko hasn�*t spoken to angela merkel twice, and according to lukashenko�*s press secretary, there are apparently 7000 migrants in belarus, 2000 of which are at the belarus polish border at the moment. what lukashenko has suggested, the eu to take care of these 2000 migrants, and the remaining 5000 perhaps can go to their own countries. to end, this is a very tough situation. the migrants ended up suffering a lot. they have been pushed by the belarussian authorities into the hands of polish guards, and the polish police are pushing them back to the belarus territory. so we are yet to see how the crisis in belarus will unfold. thank you very much. four members of the same family have died in a house fire in south east london. two women, a young boy and a girl were rescued from the house in bexleyheath last night, but died a short time later. a man who managed to leave the building was taken to hospital. tolu adeoye reports. how did two women, a girl and boy come to die as a result of a fire at this house in bexleyheath7 the question on so many minds today as a famil

i was wondering what does lukashenko do with this? they described them putting them on planes, almost a form of human trafficking. what does the lukashenko regime do with this? how do they respond? >> reporter: well, they're not backing down. you're right, there is this allegation with some substance to it, a lot of substance to it, that the lukashenko regime orchestrated this crisis. in fact, secretary blinken and the u.s. said just yesterday that it was an exploitation of vulnerable people. and many people around the world, even in poland, european union, in the international community, accept that. alexander lukashenko, the leader of belarus, does not accept it. his backers in moscow, vladimir putin over there, says that's not the case either. let's go back up to where the situation is, slightly intensifying. >>> and so there is this geopolitical standoff. there's no doubt that these people have been encouraged to come here with cheap tickets, with direct flights, with visa restrictions being lifted. and so clearly the lukashenko g

europe| doesn't see alexander lukashenko you have been paying for? europe . doesn't see alexander lukashenko as a legitimate president. he claims not to care. a pariah in the west he knows there is also vladimir putin's russia to fall back on. the brexit minister david frost says significant gaps remain across most issues relating to the northern ireland protocol, that's the part of the brexit deal designed to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland. the uk and the european union have been holding talks to try to ease the row about trading arrangements for northern ireland, with european from brussels, jessica parker reports. the uk may have left the eu, but britain is still here talking. morning, everybody. because of issues with the treaty that both sides signed up to. our preference is to see if we can find a negotiated way through this problem. if we can't, article 16 remains on the table. that means potentially suspending parts of the protocol. so, how are discussions going? i wouldn't expect any breakthroughs on anything today, but there a

>> as he has without any doubt influence on lukashenko, convince him to stop that. it is cynical, it is atrocious to see what the lukashenko regime is doing to these people. just stop that. >> should the u.s. sanction belarus as well? >> well, that is the decision of the united states. >> will you discuss this with the president tomorrow? >> of course we will discuss the situation, because this is a hybrid attack on the european union from the lukashenko regime without any doubt. i will discuss that with the president. >> i want to ask you about iran because the nuclear talks are finally supposed to resume in vienna november 29th. there have been no talks since june when the election in iran took place. there's been signaling from iran that they will not pick up with the progress that was being made. how concerned is the eu to the jcpoa, the original nuclear deal, that the window is shortening dramatically and they could be really close to breakout if there isn't some return to compliance by both iran and our side? >> every day counts without any doubt. therefore, i

so indeed, i don't think luke -- lukashenko will emerge the winner. it's possible that he will obtain this position. unfortunately, that's what dictators do. have some sort of conflict to have a rally. but then look a at the massive conflict in belarus -- >> could he make some of the same allegations for some of these e.u. countries that they have right-wing government that is see a political interest for them in rallying their public opinion around the sort of of refugee stuff? >> they will use this to increase the popularity. it's not the polish government that is flying people from the middle east to then force them to the border. this is all a consequence of actions taken by the regime in minsk. >> let me bring in leano and ask this question is there really a whip for countries like poland if lukashenko is weakened but at that time benefit of countries like russia? is there much comfort also? >> well -- yeah, but what we -- i would like to comment very shortly on the previous thing that the information that he has said that i think the issue shoul

accuses belarussian president aleksandr lukashenko of instrumental raising the migrants, mostly from the middle east, to put pressure on the bloc, allowing them to fly into belarus and then encouraging them to cross into neighboring e.u. countries like poland and lithuania. >> this is a continuation of the desperate attempt by the lukashenko regime to use people as pawns to destabilize the european union and, of course, the values that we stand for. we have repeatedly firmly rejected attempts are instrumentalized people for political purposes. porteruestionecause governme has denied manufacturg the situation in retaliation for e.u. sanctions on belarus. poland has deployed thousands of soldiers to the border, built a razor wire fence, and declared a state of emergency in the region, which cludes a media blackout. journalists and humanitarian organizations are not allowed to get close to the border. aid workers report that the migrants face extremely difficult conditions, as temperatures dip below freezing and food and medical care are lacking. at least 10 people have been found dead

we heard from president lukashenko on friday, he l president lukashenko on friday, he spoke to the bbc and he basically said i did not invite these migrants but it's absolutely possible my trips were helping them over the border into poland. the fact is it's a humanitarian tragedy unfolding on the border and the polls don't seem to be helping very much because they are basically banning ngos and banning people tickle and provide health care and they're basically saying you can't come and see what's going on here. is there a danger the end up looking like a filling? the eu contrary _ end up looking like a filling? the eu contrary to — end up looking like a filling? tt2 eu contrary to some of the mythologies, we weren't going to brexit but contrary to some of the mythologies in the build up to that referendum has fairly limited autonomous power so the eu does not have a collective foreign policy. that's why britain could back the war in iraq and france and germany did not. , , , , did not. so,... this ends up being one of its — did not. so,... this ends up being one of its member _ d

lukashenko visiting a migrant shelter close to the order with poland. surrounded by a crowd of those who are only in his country because they want to travel west, he took the opportunity to make this appeal to germany. >> the majority of these people want to reunite with their families and find their close compatriots in germany. to the german authorities, please take this people. this is not a big burden. they want to live in germany. 2000 people is not a big problem for germany and chancellor merkel has agreed to this. >> but in berlin, angela merkel spokesperson issued a denial. >> behalf of the chancellor and the government, i want to state this is false. it was false a few days ago when mr. lukashenko and his spokesperson made it such a statement. it is not true. germany would not agree to that. >> the caretaker government in berlin believes the humanitarian situation on poland's eastern border is part of a deliberate campaign to underline -- undermine the eu. markel said as much on thursday -- angela merkel said as much thursday after a meeting wi

when the eu president was here last week, and the pressure on lukashenko, how can the u.s. support the eu as it faces this horrendous migration crisis? secretary sherman. >> you think i would have learned by now. indeed. what lukashenko is doing with undoubtedly the support of president putin is outrageous, which is bringing out migrants from the middle east and pushing them over the border into poland and to other countries trying to create a crisis for the european union. i was meeting this morning with my german counterpart here in washington, and interestingly enough this question came up when i was in peru, because it is emblematic of exactly where this conversation began, which is the struggle for freedom and democracy. the united states wants to support europe in every way we can. let them take the lead because this is their backyard, we are prepared to impose whatever sanctions are necessary in this regard and making it clear that this is not acceptable. i know there are discussions with governments in the middle east to not let airplanes fly to minsk with migrants

is lukashenko changing tactics? nick: for now, there has been no acceptance of that statement from berlin. they are still pushi the line that it is time for germany to take responsibility for some of these people. belarusian state media are repeing the mtra that these people have come to europe to come to germany and not stay in belarus or go anhere else. so ty are not accepting this refusal from berlin. there were kids at the warehouse who had the flag painted on their cheeks. it was officially a pr stunt to try to create the television image and put pressure on the germans. but increasingly now the belarusian authorities are faced withhe reality that the alternative is either to send these people back to their home countries, or allowing them to ask for asylum. interestingly, though, the belarusian leader saying today that there had been no asylum claiomething we were able to clarify is not the case. people telling us they have made official asylum clas. they are still ting to get some people into the border small

because it's the only language that mister lukashenko can understand. the eu has acted very fairly, very quickly this late spring, early summer when a ryanair flight was hijacked in order to detain one of the members of belarusian civil society. the sanctions imposed also in the belarusian airspace were really strongly felt by the dictator. and this is the answer we should have now as well. so another set of sanctions targeting both the individuals and the entities that try to engage in organising this illegal migration as well as further economic sanctions damaging the plan of the dictator. this is necessary in order to make him no longer breach international law. so deeper and wider european union sanctions against belarus. so what kind of economic sanctions are you talking about? i think all options should be on the table because the situation we are facing right now is unprecedented. we have been facing as europe in general various crisis also those related to migration legal or irregular migration. but never before we have experienced a situation w

it is lukashenko today, someone else tomorrow. _ it is lukashenko today, someone else tomorrow, and ultimately, when you're _ tomorrow, and ultimately, when you're coming to enter and people are threatened to cut off or because even further price hikes to energy bills, _ even further price hikes to energy bills, none — even further price hikes to energy bills, none of that is ideal. just sad, _ bills, none of that is ideal. just sad, what _ bills, none of that is ideal. just sad, what daisy was saying, the horrendous thing that situation, the temperatures there are very cold already. — temperatures there are very cold already, so people are having to stand _ already, so people are having to stand in — already, so people are having to stand in these freezing temperatures, some of them have died already. _ temperatures, some of them have died already. so— temperatures, some of them have died already. so it _ temperatures, some of them have died already, so it is a huge crisis. poland — already, so it is a huge crisis. poland does not want them in, the eu does not _ poland does not want

because it's the only language that mister lukashenko can understand. the eu has acted very fairly, very quickly this late spring, early summer when a ryan air flight was hijacked in order to detain one of the members of belarusian civil society. the sanctions imposed also in the belarusian airspace weren't really strongly felt by the dictator. and this is the answer we should have now as well. so another set of sanctions targeting both the individuals and the entities that try to engage in organising this illegal migration as well as further economic sanctions damaging the plan of the dictator. this is necessary in order to make him no longer breach international law. so deeper and wider european union sanctions against belarus. so what kind of economic sanctions are you talking about? i think all options should be on the table because the situation we are facing right now is unprecedented. we have been facing as europe in general various crisis also those related to migration legal or irregular migration. but never before we have experienced a situati

this looks as if this was lukashenko�*s idea. on the other hand, belarus is very dependent on russia for its economic help, for its energy supplies, and it's very difficult to imagine that if russia didn't really want belarus to be doing this, that it would't pull some strings to get lukashenko to back down. so, so far, we have russia, as we just heard in the report, backing belarus also in the united nations security council, and saying things like, well, maybe the european union should pay belarus some money and that maybe we'll take care of it. we've had condemnation from the european union and from the un and from polish officials, but little practically being done. what's your view on the international response to this? i think it's been very slow. this has been going on forfive months. it's accelerated in the past couple of weeks. it's made much worse by the onset of winter. but i think people hoped that it would go away. but of course it's not going away, it's getting worse. so now we have people saying there will be more

lukashenko has got _ ramping up the rhetoric. lukashenko has got his— ramping up the rhetoric. lukashenko has got his own game to play. callum is right, _ has got his own game to play. callum is right, he _ has got his own game to play. callum is right, he is— has got his own game to play. callum is right, he is packed down on dissidents, he's been —— his political— dissidents, he's been —— his political opponent has been driven out of— political opponent has been driven out of the — political opponent has been driven out of the country, he is a tyrannical— out of the country, he is a tyrannical dictator, but i don't think— tyrannical dictator, but i don't think vladimir putin has will be pleased — think vladimir putin has will be pleased with how things are going i’ilht pleased with how things are going right now — pleased with how things are going right now. the pleased with how things are going riaht now. , , , pleased with how things are going riahtnow. , ,, ., . , right now. the press agencies yesterday _ right now. the press agencies yesterday an

it was interesting that lukashenko said a few weeks ago "the next thing i could do is stop the gas getting to western europe, that has to flow through the pipelines that come from russia". whether or not he is going to do that, the european response has been compromised by energy. whether to belarus or to russia. well, you know, the eu is really depending on russian gas — 35% of the consumption comes from russia. and, of course, the three countries that depend the most, more than 50% of their need is germany, france, and italy, and those are very important eu countries, so there is no leverage there. and there's also the suspension by the german regulator of the nord stream pipeline between russia and northern germany, which is not helping the situation. and the energy situation in general, it's really bad on the supply side. so there is absolutely no powerfor the eu, as steve said, it has no defence policy in general. the only thing that could play, and the russians would be a bit worried about, is of course that europe has two good armies, two nuclear nations, two nations with a perman

steve, we heard from president lukashenko of belarus at last on friday, and he basically said "i did not invite these migrants, but it is absolutely possible my troops were helping them over the border or trying to get over the border into poland". the fact is it is now a humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding, and the poles don't seem to be helping very much because they are banning ngos, banning people from providing health care. they are basically saying "you cannot come and see what is going on here". is there a danger that the eu could end up looking like a villain in this? well, the eu, contrary to some of the mythologies — we won't go into brexit again — but contrary to some of the mythologies in the build—up to that referendum, has fairly limited autonomous power. so the eu does not have a collective foreign policy — that's why britain could back the war in iraq and france and germany did not. but this is effectively ending up as one of its member states, what it is doing on its border, and it reflects on all europeans. indeed, they will have to work out what to do ab

steve rosenberg's sit—down interview with mr lukashenko has rightly gone viral on social media. it gave us a fascinating insight into the man. steve told me on the media show what it was like to do. mister lukashenko was on his way and could have waltzed into the room and sat down and there was not much small talk. and my russian is not native and i tried my best and he said he would do the interview in my language and off we went. and very quickly he was trying to put me down. he accused me of lying and said, don't be dumb and he used the familiarform, and in russian there is one form, the polite form for you and a familiar form is one form, the polite form for you and a familiarform and he used is one form, the polite form for you and a familiar form and he used the familiarform which i took and a familiar form and he used the familiar form which i took as an insult, basically, so he was clearly trying to get one up on me, i think. before we talk about it further. let's hear some of the interview. you told the eu that belarus had been stopping migrants and they would have to c

would lukashenko be able to do this without the of vladimir putin? , , ., ., to do this without the of vladimir putin? ,, . ., �* ., , to do this without the of vladimir putin? ,, . . �* ., , ., , putin? russia and belarus are very close allies- _ putin? russia and belarus are very close allies. in _ putin? russia and belarus are very close allies. in fact _ putin? russia and belarus are very close allies. in fact russia - putin? russia and belarus are very close allies. in fact russia is - close allies. in fact russia is between two countries in this relationship, like an elder brother, russia has the upper hand in this relationship first of all because of the belarusian economy which is heavily dependent on russia and its financial resources support, but still president lukashenko is trying to be like an equal partner. it is of course difficult to be an equal partner, but we know he behaves quite unpredictable, his policies, trying to play between the west and russia on the contradictory, and he is trying to get some advantage in this relations