AGL 40.01 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.03%)
AIRLINK 131.00 Increased By ▲ 1.47 (1.13%)
BOP 6.87 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (2.84%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.08%)
DCL 8.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.57%)
DFML 42.43 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (1.78%)
DGKC 84.17 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (0.48%)
FCCL 32.90 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.4%)
FFBL 77.36 Increased By ▲ 1.89 (2.5%)
FFL 12.11 Increased By ▲ 0.64 (5.58%)
HUBC 109.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.60 (-0.54%)
HUMNL 14.41 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-1.03%)
KEL 5.52 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (2.41%)
KOSM 8.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.6%)
MLCF 39.55 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-0.6%)
NBP 63.74 Increased By ▲ 3.45 (5.72%)
OGDC 198.37 Decreased By ▼ -1.29 (-0.65%)
PAEL 26.38 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-1.01%)
PIBTL 7.67 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.13%)
PPL 158.70 Increased By ▲ 0.78 (0.49%)
PRL 26.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-1.23%)
PTC 18.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.33%)
SEARL 82.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-0.29%)
TELE 8.08 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-2.77%)
TOMCL 34.42 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.26%)
TPLP 8.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.21%)
TREET 16.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.57 (-3.26%)
TRG 59.30 Decreased By ▼ -2.02 (-3.29%)
UNITY 27.51 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.29%)
WTL 1.40 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.45%)
BR100 10,637 Increased By 230.1 (2.21%)
BR30 31,867 Increased By 153.7 (0.48%)
KSE100 98,920 Increased By 1591.2 (1.63%)
KSE30 30,824 Increased By 631.9 (2.09%)

BONN: Germany’s foreign minister warned Saturday that Russia could seek to spark division in the West through refugees, as Moscow seeks to expand its “hybrid war”.

“This war is not only waged with weapons, it is also waged with energy and for that, we have found an answer. But it will also be waged with fear and division, and that is precisely what we have to prevent,” said Annalena Baerbock at a congress of her Greens’ party.

“In this situation it is clear what will be next – refugees and not refugees from Ukraine… but because this war is hybrid, other countries are also participating,” Baerbock said, pointing to Serbia which she accused of letting in planeloads of migrants without visas.

Stressing that there cannot be a situation “where people are being used as weapons”, the minister said Germany was in talks with the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the issue.

Germany has in recent weeks warned about Belgrade’s visa-free travel regime for several countries whose citizens use Serbia as a springboard to enter the EU.

Russia confirms death of five soldiers drafted to Ukraine

Serbia, a candidate for eventual EU membership, lies on the so-called Balkan route used by migrants heading towards Western Europe as they flee war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Although the route is nowhere as busy as it was during Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, tens of thousands still pass through the region annually.

Germany took in over a million migrants during the 2015 crisis, but the move left Europe’s biggest economy deeply divided. Misgivings among some voters eventually resulted in the arrival of the far-right AfD party in parliament.

The European Commission’s 2022 report on migration and asylum released this month found an “increasing number of people” were arriving by air to Serbia due to its “visa-free regimes”.

It said it was “crucial” that Western Balkan partners “align their visa policies” with the EU to decrease pressure on the route.

Comments

Comments are closed.